By Violet Pereira, Team Mangalorean

Mangalore: Bar Council Association held a press meet at the press club, Urva, here on July 10.

Addressing the media members Mangalore Bar Council President S P Chengappa said that the Central Government with the leadership of Kapil Sibal, the minister of human resource development and minister of communications and information technology, will Implement the new act, which is a threat to the advocates in the country.  We are against the six points which are in the act. They are;

The Higher Education and Research Bill 2011
The National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for higher Educational Institution Act 2010.
The Foreign Educational Institution Regulation of Entry and Operation Bill 2010
The Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Higher Educational Institution Bill 2010
The National Law Schools Bill 2011
The Motor Vehicle Amendment act 2011

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, in his letter to the bar association,  stated that the Bar Council of India is free to prescribe minimum standards of education for grant of degrees leading to professional practice. Terming the proposed Higher Education and Research Bill as "draconian, unconstitutional and undemocratic" and one that infringes on its powers.

Further Chengappa stated that the central government is preparing to implement new acts and urged not to include law education and Advocate act 1961 in the present Bill.  If the law education will come under the new bill, the advocates will lose their freedom to practice law and this will affect the advocates. 

The Bar council of India and the State bar council  will lose its rights and it will come under the national commission.  The national commission will appoint their own members from various parts to monitor, and the bar council members will not be entertained in the national commission.  

He said that 1.7 million advocates across the country would abstain from work on July 11 and 12, if legal education is not removed from the purview of the bill.  He also said there will be no any activities in the courts on 11 and 12 July. The procession will start from the court premises and it will culminate in front of the DC office. 

General Secretary of Mangalore Bar Council Ganesh Shenoy and Treasurer B Vittal Rai were also present.