The Delhi High Court has taken action by issuing a notice to the Bar Council of India (BCI) in response to an application requesting the incorporation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) as a mandatory subject within LL.B. course curriculums.

The case, headed by a Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna, has been scheduled for a hearing on January 24. This decision came after the Court was informed that the Bar Council of India (BCI) had not yet addressed the representations previously sent regarding this matter.

The notice issued regarding the application stemmed from a prior Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Social Jurist, an organization represented by Advocates Ashok Agarwal and Kumar Utkarsh. The PIL was resolved in March after the Bar Council of India (BCI) assured the Court that they would review the representation brought before them.

Today, Advocate Agarwal, representing the petitioner, highlighted that for the past nine months, the Bar Council of India (BCI) had not taken any action regarding the matter.

The petitioner contended in the application that any additional delay by the Bar Council of India (BCI) in evaluating and making a decision to integrate the RTE Act into LL.B. courses would undermine the essence and goals of the legislation

The PIL filed earlier this year argued that even though the RTE Act came into force a long time back, hardly any student, lawyer or even judge is aware of its provisions.