LEGAL EDUCATION IN INDIA

Author(s): Arjun P. Aggarwal

Source: Journal of Legal Education , 1959, Vol. 12, No. 2 (1959), pp. 231-248
Published by: Association of American Law Schools

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/42891345

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 LEGAL EDUCATION IN INDIA
Arjun P. Aggarwal*

Introduction

If not impossible, it is at least difficult to understand the developmen

modern legal education in India without first making reference to both
development of modern university education in general and the develo
ment of the British judicial system in India, especially in the last cent
and a half.

A. Establishment of Universities

The beginning of the English form of education in India can be traced

to the year 1792, when the directors of the East India Company debated a
proposal for the sending of school masters to India. In 1835, Lord William
Bentinck published a resolution in which he urged the need to promote
European literature and science among Indians. Finally, towards the end of
1856, the British Government of India enacted a bill for the establishment of
three universities. The first was established at Calcutta in 1857, and those
at Bombay and Madras followed shortly thereafter. Following these, uni-
versities were successively founded at Punjab in 1882, Allahabad in 1887,
Benares in 1916, Patna in 1917, Delhi in 1922, Nagpur in 1923, Andhra in
1926, Agra in 1927, and Annamalai in 1929. All of these universities were
organized along the lines of and continue to follow the traditional pattern
of English education.

B. Establishment of British Courts

It would not be incorrect to say that prior to the War of Independence of

1857, the occupied area and territories in India were governed by the East
India Company under the grant of special charters of the British Parliament.1
The Company had, from time to time, been granted the power to establish
its own courts and make laws not only for the servants of the Company, but
also for the inhabitants of India living in Company-occupied areas.2 By the
end of the eighteenth century, Company government in India had established
its own courts in all the three presidencies (now called states) of Calcutta,
Bombay, and Madras.3 The law they followed was mainly English.4 The
establishment of the recorders courts and supreme courts in the three presi-
dency towns provided the initial impetus for the advent of professional law-
yers.5 In 1861, these courts were amalgamated into a single high court in
each presidency.
* Member of the Indian bar.
i C. Fawcett, The First Century of British Justice in India (1934).
2 C. D. Dharker, Lord Mac aul ay' s Legislature Minutes 4 (1946).
3 Id. at 12.
4/(Z. at 9.
6 Fawcett, op. cit. supra note 1, at v.
231

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 232 Journal of Legal Education [Vol. 12

C. Qualifications for Entering the Legal Profes

Another matter which has substantial bearing on
education of India were the former categories of profe
which had its own academic qualifications. The term
India comprised quite a number of well-defined and d
sons who practiced the profession of law in various a
(2) vakils, (3) attorneys, (4) pleaders, (5) mukht
agents.6 The legal training which was required for
of practitioners varied considerably. Some of the clas
to undergo compulsory training of any kind; othe
apprenticeship; and still others required formal train
schools. Moreover, there existed different authorities
who desired to enter into the legal profession.
A psychological factor affecting qualifications for en
fession should also be mentioned. Lawyers with ba
from England have enjoyed preferential treatment in
directly has had a great influence on their practice. Th
trend in the masses to believe that a lawyer with the
more intelligent and capable and deserves higher fees
financially afford it, therefore, have preferred to se
England rather than to Indian law schools for leg
frequently noted that the students in Indian law schoo
families. This sheds light on why most of the law sch
schools and continued solely as such for nearly a centu

II

Law School Education

A. The Origin and Development of Law Schools

Modern legal education in India began with the establishmen
Government Law College at Bombay in 185 5. 7 The institution b
the appointment of one professor of jurisprudence, who used to le
hours a week in the evening.8 The first lecture was attended by 10
but actually the class of students consisted of forty-six, out of w
thirty-six appeared for examination in 1856. The Government La
Bombay, was affiliated with the Bombay University in September
More or less in the same period and organized along the same li
schools were started in Calcutta and Madras. The schools were par
too. Classes were conducted in the evening, and most of the stud
attended them worked during the day to earn their living. The staff (f
engaged for teaching of law was almost all part-time and was drawn

6 5 Encyclopedia of the General Acts and Codes of India 176 (1938).

? Karwe, History o J the ixovernment L>aw uouege, isomoay, y juaw college mag-
azine 1 (1938). There seems to be a conflict of opinion about the beginning of legal
education in India. Mr. Karwe has claimed the Government Law College, Bombay,
to be the first law institution established in India, in 1855, whereas another record
shows that Madras Law College was established in 1840. In absence of other evi-
dence, I have taken the founding of the Government Law College, Bombay, as the
beginning of the British legal education in India.
8 M. at 9.

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 1959] Comments 233

practicing lawyers. This wa

schools were part-time, but
were considered best able to
The object of law school is t
come lawyers able to apply
rection can only be given b
know how legal principles ar
facts.

. the college should be a

students are concerned, but
other than the Principal.9

The number of institutions

year 1886-87, there were
the year 1896-97, there wer
It may be noted that most o
of the three presidencies of
the Calcutta presidency had
were only two law schools i
(now in Pakistan) and the ot
It is interesting to note tha
the beginning of the twentie
in the year 1921-22, as com
mainly attributable to the f
arts colleges were closed on
Commission of 1902, which
tion thus imparted.12 It wa
new universities were estab
law departments came into e
There are now thirty-one f
noted that of the thirty-one,
years - i. e., between 1945 an
there are twenty liberal arts
degree of Bachelor of Law (
law schools are either affiliate
universities of the country.
the day, although a few hav
Though little definite inf
liberal arts colleges, it is not
conducted only in the eveni
education offered by the lib
and quality as that offered b
arts colleges do not have ade
9 Is it Desirable that the Government Law School Should i>e Made a Full Time
Institution f , 8 id. 30, 31, 32, (1937).
io 2 J. A. Richey, Progress of Education in India, 1917-1922, at 142 (1929).
" See INDIAN U NIVERIST Y COMMISSION, xvEPORT
12 Ibid. The Commission recommended, " . . . the local law classes and law
departments must disappear, except where it can be shown that a center of bona-
fide legal teaching can be established." Karwe, supra note 7, at 41.
12 Journal Legal Ed.No.2 - 6

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 234 Journal of Legal Education [Vol. 12

necessary facilities. The legal education of liberal a

minor impact on the legal education of the country
despite their quite large number, most of them are si
(Uttar Pradesh), and in that state, there are four othe
law schools.

B. Prelegal Education
The present minimum qualification required for admission to the course
leading to the LL.B. degree in almost all the universities of India is a bach-
elor's degree in art, science, commerce, or agriculture from any recog-
nized university. The Andhra and Bombay Universities are exceptions to
this rule, for they have adopted the intermediate examination 13 as a mini-
mum admission requirement. Whether a student with the minimum qualifi-
cations will be admitted, however, depends upon the policies and the standards
of the individual law school. Some law schools admit any student with a
bachelor's degree, whereas others restrict admission to the students who not
only have a bachelor's degree, but also were graduated in the second divi-
sion 14 or higher. The official bulletins of information of law schools usually
prescribe only the minimum requirement and reserve to the law schools a
right to admit after confidential scrutinization. For example, Delhi Law
School's Bulletin of Information reads : 15

All admissions are by selection, and no one should consider that by

putting in the application in the proscribed form with the required mini-
mum qualifications he would be automatically admitted. All admissions
will be by selection and interview where deemed necessary.

It is noteworthy that when legal education started in India in the 1850's,

even the nonmatriculate (non-high school) students were admitted in the law
course.16 Later, in the 1870's, the minimum qualification was raised to
the intermediate examination (i. e., two years of college). For some time,
LL.B. candidates could attend lectures at the law school concurrently with
lectures in the arts or sciences, though the degree could not be obtained until
two years after receiving a B.A. or B.Sc.17 In the first decade of the twenti-
eth century, however, the bachelor's degree in arts or sciences was made the
minimum qualification for the admission to law school, on the recommenda-
tion of the Indian University Commission of 1902. But in 1938, the Govern-
ment Law College, Bombay, again changed its prelegal education requirement
from that of the bachelor's degree to that of only an intermediate examina-
tion. This reduction was made on the recommendation of the committee ap-
pointed by the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in 1935.18
13 The intermediate examination is given by some Indian universities after two
years of college study. It is midway between the graduation from high school and
graduation from college.
14 Universities in India maintain three categories (grades): first division, second
division, and third division. Third division is the minimum passing grade ; second
division is a good grade ; and the first division is the highest grade.
15 See Faculty of jlaw, university of uelhi, .bulletin of information 5 (1955).
1« Karwe, supra note 7, at 69.
17 id. at 26.
18 Bureau of Education, Government of India, Education in India in 1938-39,
at 106 (1941).

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1959] Comments 235
In 1936, Dr. B. R. Ambedka
advocated that legal education
from high school. He observed
in an Arts College for obtain
of no material benefit to him
education was useless and a w
student was not taught what w
legal studies, such as sociology
public speaking, and comman
bedkar's plan, these subjects
period of legal education extend
The question of prelegal educ
cial committee appointed in 19
a law school in that university
lawyer and jurist of India, reco
should be the only prerequisite.2
Since the independence of Ind
tion has generally become mor
unanimously recommended i
Legal education has been no exc
University Education has bro
is of the opinion that after th
spend three more years in c
three years should be devoted
to spend eight years in study aft
and an additional one year for
the practice of law.
Although the Radhakrishnan
expansion of prelegal educatio
has come for Indian universiti
and Canadian universities, whe
legal education to two to thre
upon an undergraduate degree
latter position, it should be obs
good American college is many
years in an Indian college. The
not be forgotten. The variety o
broad education ; in Indian high
student is often wasted on the
year. If the Indian system o
improved and the questionable
jects in a college were revised,
in such areas as culture, histor
Indian students, too, might be

l® Ambedkar, Thoughts on the Re

cy , 7 Law College Magazitce 6
article, he was the Principal of th
20 Chitale, Standardization of Leg
«i IMd.

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236 Journal of Legal Education [Vol. 12

age comparable to that of the American students, afte

study prelegal education.
Admission to law school after only three years of co
to reduce the present unnecessarily large volume of st
schools. It is admitted by all concerned that most stu
because they cannot gain employment after obtaining
official record of about thirty years ago reads : 22

A detailed inquiry was made into the reason why

admission into the colleges of law and it was discovered
a very large proportion of them (perhaps 50%) had
liberate preference for the legal profession but becaus
no other occupation after taking a degree.

If, therefore, students could be admitted to law scho

degree, they would do so in most cases with a deliber
into the legal profession. They would be more ser
studies than others who already have a degree, as th
solely in law. Along the same lines, to more strongly
for the legal profession, Dr. Ambedkar once observed
Due to this unsteadiness in purpose, there is no seriou
student and that is why his study of law is so haph
fore necessary to compel him to stick to it. A boy
has other opportunities in his life open to him. My sch
vantage of compelling the boy to make his choice at
at which every one in this country is required to mak
reer.

. it will introduce a process of selection. Those who have no

the definite object of entering the profession will be weeded out.
those with the definite object will join. It will thus help to preve
overcrowding of the profession.

C. Length of Law School Studies

In most of the Indian universities, the period of law schoo
for the bachelor's degree in law is two years. But the Andhra a
Universities require three years of law school residence for th
admitted after passing an intermediate examination. Those
schools which also conduct evening law classes do not require a
of the evening students, as do most of the American law schoo
words, in India, evening students are treated on a par with day
with respect to standards and work load. Some universities
extra year of legal study after awarding the bachelor's degree
is because the High Court of Punjab, as a condition precedent f
mission to the legal profession, requires three years of law scho
rather than the customary two.
Two years is a very short time within which a student can prop
or be given a thorough grounding in the principles of law. It m
22 1 Progress of Education in India, 1922-27, at 1187 (1929).
23 Ambedkar, supra note 19, at 12.

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 1959] Comments 237

that for a long time, particular

customarily required three y
1902 recommended a two-ye
law, and since 1908-09, this h
In 1919, the Saddler Commis
be lengthened to three years
strongly approved of extend
if not four years, urging th
lapse of adequate time.25 The
mended a three-year course i
of opinion among the teache
course in India should be thre
Apart from the suggested th
certain bar councils have sug
professional subjects should
left in the control of the bar
councils propose to offer law
dure, codes, limitations, evid
etiquette, etc.29 But the natu
in such professional subject
a great need of cooperation b
This need has been continuou
of India.30 But it does not
of different subjects would
among the American univers

D. Curriculum 31

As noted earlier, the legal education in India began with the teaching of
jurisprudence, and it appears that the teaching of jurisprudence alone con-
tinued for a decade. The Government Law College, Bombay, when it was
affiliated with the Bombay University, however, started a three-year degree
course in law. The following was the curriculum in 1862 : 32
First Year: 1. General and comparative jurisprudence (including the
elements of Roman and English private substantive law,
and of the Hindu and Mahomedan law of contracts,
family, and succession)

24 See Report of the Saddler Commission of 1917 (1919).

25 See Calcutta University Commission Report cc. 4 and 5 (1907).
26 See Radhakrishnan Commission on University Education, Report (1950) ;
Chítale, supra note 20, at 61.
27 See Chítale, supra note 20.
28 Ibid.
29 ibid.
30 Reddy, Lawyers Role in Society, 58 Bom.L.R.J. 17 (1956) ; see also Setalvad, An
Address Before the Madras State Laioyers 1 Conference on Oct. 12 , 1951 , 54 Bom.L.R.
J. 1 (1952).
31 The historical changes in curriculum that are described are based on the ex-
perience of the Government Law College, Bombay. It can be assumed that the ex-
perience of the other law colleges has been more or less similar.
32 Karwe, supra note 7, app. 5, at 7.

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238 Journal of Legal Education [Vol. 12
Second Year: 1. Contracts and mercantile law
2. Torts and criminal law

Third Year: 1. Principles of equity (including the doctrines of property

law)
2. Judicial evidence and procedure, civil and criminal
In the year 1891, the following changes in the curriculum were made: 33
First Year:
1. Roman civil law
2. Elements of general jurisprudence
3. International law
4. Ancient law

Second and Third Year:

1. Succession and family rights with special ref-
erence to Hindu and Mahomedan law
2. Contracts and the transfer of leases of im-
movable property
3. Equity, with special reference to trusts and
other securities for money and the Specific
Relief Act
4. Torts and crimes
5. Evidence, civil procedure (including limita-
tion), and criminal procedure
In accordance with the recommendations of the Indian University Com-
mission in 1902, as noted above, the law schools reduced the law courses from
three to two years and reorganized their curricula. In 1908-09, when the
new regulations came into force, the curriculum was as follows : 34
First Year:
1. Roman law
2. Jurisprudence
3. Contracts and torts
4. Crimes and criminal procedure code
Second Year:
1. Succession and family rights, with special reference
to Hindu and Mahomedan law
2. Property, easements, and land tenures
3. Equity, with special reference to trusts and specific
relief
4. Evidence, civil procedure, and limitation
Since 1908, there were four courses for each of the two yearly LL.B. de-
gree examinations. In 1926, however, the number was raised from four
to five. In the first year, a course was added in constitutional law and gov-
ernment of India Act, while in the second year, courses in company law and
the law of insolvency were added as additional subjects.85

33 id. app. 7, at 28.

34 University Regulations ( uomo ay) iteiating to L,aw uxaminaiwns, i ijaw col-
lege Magazine 59 (1930).
35 Karwe, supra note 7, at 61.

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 1959] Comments 239
It may be noted that Indian la
emphasis on the teaching of R
of 1902 recommended that R
because most of the Indian la
appears that despite its rejectio
educators have emphasized it. S
beyond and above this the Indi
knowledge of the principles of
prudence of every civilized nati
The following is the normal c
for the bachelor's degree in law :
First Year:
1. Roman law or outline of Indian legal history
2. Torts
3. Constitutional law, English and Indian
4. Contracts
5. Hindu law
6. Mahomedan law
7. Equity, with special reference to trusts and specific
relief

Second Year:
1. Mercantile law (including the Sale of Goods Act, part-
nership, and negotiable instruments)
2. Criminal law and procedure
3. Jurisprudence
4. Civil procedure
5. Evidence
6. Transfer of property and easements
7. Public international law, or private international law
(conflict of laws), or state land laws
In recent years, some Indian law schools have focused their attentio
on the changing needs of the country and have, accordingly, added some ne
courses. In the year 1955-56, the Delhi Law School started the teaching of
taxation, company law, and labor law.38 These additional subjects wer
put in the seventh category of elective subjects for the second year in la
Hence, many important subjects, such as public international law, private
international law, land laws of any one state in India, taxation, company law
and labor law, fall in one group, out of which a student can take only one o
two.

Mr. Justice Chandra Reddy, of the Andhra High Court, once emphasized
the study of humanities and quoted from the Prime Minister of Canada's
observation: "We lawyers of course regarded the law as a profession, but
before being a profession it is one of the humanities and as I conceive it the

36 See Justice Asutosh Mookerjee's Address at the Inauguration Ceremony of Dep't

of Legal Studies in the Benares Hi. lu University , 6 Hindu L.J. 45 (1923-24).
37 This curriculum is based mainly on that of the Delhi Law School. There may
be some changes here and there in other law schools, but it is probably quite typical
of most Indian law schools.
38 See Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, op.cit. supra note 15.

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240 Journal of Legal Education [Vol, 12

first function of the law school is to emphasize the huma

training." 39 This view was echoed by another Indian
served: "If we are to follow the example of the Amer
Universities, then the study of law ought to be assoc
of the humanities." 40

It is beyond doubt that law touches life at many po

of some of the social sciences is highly desirable in th
But difficulty arises when the advocates of the study
the "study of subjects like history, economics, sociol
should be included in some of the law examinations e
with law subjects or separately by devoting to such su
This suggestion evidences a confusion among India
pression that because American and Canadian auth
studies are associated with a consideration of the hum
schools are actually teaching the humanities. As I und
sciences are not taught in any law school of the Unite
method of teaching law itself which associates the st
social sciences. The stress which an American profess
tionship and effect of a particular law on culture, eco
policy, and other aspects of humanities while teaching
brings it close to the human sciences.
In short, it is hard to support the idea that hum
added to a law school curriculum. The study of these
edly highly desirable as a cultural background for th
only as prerequisite for admission to law school.
Professor Cribbet has recently pointed out how the
University of Illinois College of Law has vastly changed, e
period of ten years.42 The process of changes in curri
to meet the changing needs of the time. In modern I
organizations are fast developing and administrative t
stay, administration should now form a large and imp
Similarly, since the independence of India, the import
law has vastly increased, and some other fields of
rapidly that they deserve special attention in the law
Accordingly, if the period of law school education is e
three years in India, there should not be much diffi
wide range of courses to occupy the third year.

E. Law Examinations

Annual examinations are held for the first and second years of law where-
in the student is examined in all his current subjects. Only those students
who pass the first year in law can undertake the study of the second year.
It may be noted here that a student who fails even one subject is deemed to
have failed all and must reappear for the examination on all subjects in the

39 Reddy, Lawyer's Role in Society, 58 Bom.L.R.J. 17 (1956).

40 Chítale, supra note 20, at 62.
41 lUd.
42 Cribbet, The Evolving Curriculum - A Decade of Curriculum Change at the Uni -
versity of Illinois , 11 J.Legal Ed. 227 (1958).

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 1959] Comments 241

first-year examination hel

to continue in school and
is similar for those who f
fully passing the second-y
graduated from the law sc
Examinations in India ar
iners are often not the teachers who teach courses in the law school of the
particular student. Most of the examiners are generally from other univer-
sities. Their names are kept confidential by the university authorities.
A survey of the examination papers covering different universities and
different years would reveal that there is a more or less traditional form
for most law examinations. It would not be unfair to say that the examiners
also expect the same traditional answers to their questions. To illustrate this,
there is set forth below a hypothetical examination in criminal law, consist-
ing of questions which have been repeatedly asked in Indian law school
examinations.

University of X.Y.Z.
LL.B. Final Examination (Second Year)
Paper II - Criminal Law and Procedure
Note: Answer any four questions in addition to question VIII which is
compulsory.
I. When does "culpable homicide" not amount to murder?
II. Summarize the provisions of the Indian Penal Code relating to
(a) the causing of miscarriage, (b) causing injuries to unborn
children, (c) the exposure of infants, and (c) the concealment
of their births.

III. What are the circumstances which would constitute an unlaw-

ful assembly?
IV. (a) What constitutes abatement? State clearly the provisions
in the Indian Penal Code as to abatement of an offense.
(b) A, with the intention of murdering Z, incites B , a child
under seven years of age, to do an act which causes Z's death.
B, in consequence, of A 's influence, does the Act in A's absence
and thereby causes Z's death. Is A guilty of any offense?
V. What must the prosecution establish to prove the charge of
bigamy ?
VI. Define and explain the following terms clearly and precisely : (i)
dishonesty, (ii) fraudulently, (iii) intention, (iv) motive, and (v)
public servant.
VII. Distinguish between "criminal misappropriation," "criminal
breach of trust," and "cheating."
VIII. (a) Does "provocation" afford justification; and if so, in what
circumstances for a criminal act?
(b) A, coming home from work late at night, finds B , in bed
with A's wife. A, greatly agitated, fires a pistol at point blank
range at B but narrowly misses hitting B . Has A committed
any offense?

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242 Journal of Legal Education [Vol. 12
This should reveal the kind of training a student n
an Indian law examination. The questions have been o
order and style and with the same proportion of theor
lem questions as is typical. No injustice has been don
hypothetical problem questions, because a typical law
contains more than that. There has been a long contr
of examinations, and the controversy has particularly
ter of the proper proportion of theoretical questions a
thetical problem questions.43
The mere ability to repeat what has been read so
qualification inspiring respect for what one has "lear
indicates mastery of oneself rather than the mastery
The Indian law examination hardly requires one to thin
(or expects) one to memorize the many applicable secti
the important paragraphs from text books. This syste
largely encouraged students to resort to the ready
cram books. Some years ago, the Indian system of la
the following comment : 44

If such learning from text books instead of enriching

but encumber it, it would be a folly to let loose a large
men and women upon society with the LL.B. label o
given on the strength of such learning. Worse, infinit
be the folly of labeling a man or woman an LL.B. o
strength of an ability to answer questions for which s
only have read the ordinary cram-books which flood
which promise, usually in bad English, to teach a stude
the law on the subject they presume to deal with.

Under the present system of examinations, ther

and value to an individual professor's ideas. The p
what he feels "ought to be taught." He has to teach w
examiner, an outsider, wants his students to know. P
Cornell Law School, in a very persuasive way, has argu
necessary for the betterment of legal education in In
the American examination system.45 He writes : 46
Examination should be prepared and graded by the
teaches the course. Only thus can he demand that h
the material he thinks makes for a full understandi
Only thus can he develop his own content for the c
will he be induced to do individual research and contribu
of his field. Only thus can you break the reliance on "c

Even more significant for the Indian legal educator

man's last sentence, where he concludes, "If a profes
teach, he can be trusted to examine." 47

43 See Legal Problems, 12 Law College Magazine 2 (1941).

44 ibid.
45 Freeman, Some Thoughts on Law Teaching , 5 Indian L.kev. 143 (1951).
46 id. at 145.
47 ibid.

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 1959] Comments 243

F. Method of Instruction

The main technique of teaching law in most of the law schools of India
is by lecturing. The pros and cons of lecturing are well known, and there is
no need to reiterate them here. But at the same time, it is true that even in
India, it has been felt, at least since the beginning of the twentieth century,
that this method of teaching law is defective and needs to be changed. In
1902, the Indian University Commission observed i48
We are informed that the rising race of pleaders are not deficient in
book knowledge. They sometimes lack the power to apply their knowl-
edge to the case before them. The best corrective of this defect would
be supplied by the practice of teaching from cases, the system now fol-
lowed by many of the best teachers of law in England and America .

Under the present system, the part which the students take in their own
legal education consists merely in taking notes of lectures delivered by the
professors. This system at most acquaints the students with the provisions
of different acts, but it is doubtful whether it affords a sufficient training of
the student's mind to enable him to apply legal principles to the complicated
series of facts which arise in practice. These lectures are little more than a
series of definitions and substantially fail in effectively examining the process
of legal reasoning, the method of legal change, and the social aspects of laws.
Sir Dinshah Mulla, one of the most famous jurists and writers of the
1930's, once advised the students that,49

. . . studying cases does not mean merely reading head-notes

or for that matter merely rushing through the judgment. It means that
the person reading a case is bound to understand first of all the facts.
Thereafter, it is necessary for him to read the arguments of counsel
where arguments were given. Thereafter to read the judgment with
care and to consider what principles were underlying the judgment.

Justice Asutosh Mookerjee said: 50

The chief purpose of legal education is to impart to the students a
knowledge not of particular details but of a fundamental principle;
to teach him to draw the right conclusion from the premises.
If the student has thus been brought face to face with principles
and conclusions, and if his mind has been illuminated by an exposition
of their relation to other necessary truths; if he has been conducted
down the historic path of social and legal evolution until he has reached
the present rules of law, he cannot have failed to absorb and assimilate
the reason of the law.

Let then the student discover the principles from the dry husks of text
books, statutes, and reports. Let him extract, master, and retain the
principles he has brought to light, for his success as a student of law

48 See Indian University Commission, Report (1902). (Emphasis added.) Karwe,

supra note 7, at 40.
49 Mulla, Address to the Law College Students on Nov . 28, 1930 , 2 Law College
Magazine 11 (1931).
50 Mookerjee, supra note 36, at 52.

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244 Journal of Legal Education [Vol. 12

will be measured by the success which had attended his

this process of analysis and assimilation. Let then t
with scrupulous care that self deception which is destr
knowledge. He may be artful, cram, delude his exam
admission to his degree; but let him rest assured th
delude the judge, much less his adversary who will not
full advantage of his profound ignorance. He will t
too late, that if a man commences practice without a k
principles of law, he will never learn them afterwards

Though Justice Mookerjee did not use the expressio

what he delineated is the real objective behind the u
is a matter of great regret that the views of such an
and educator, have not been implemented by the Ind
the past thirty-five years. If the method of teachin
fashioned according to his advice, at least in the new
tion would have been much improved by this time.
Since the independence of India, the general tend
the field of law, both in the teaching and in the adm
has been to look at the experience of the United S
Sastry has analyzed the possibility of adopting the c
Taking into consideration the fact that classes have
level where the teacher often resorts to the soul-kil
mechanical dictation of notes, he has pointed out tha
has a lesson of deep and dynamic interest to law
But at the same time, he has observed : 52

Most of our law is in the form of statutes and the

itself has reached a stage ripe for codification. In the
our land, a servile copy of either the British or the Am
unnecessary, harmful and unwarranted .

Professor Sastry's conclusion suffers from two err

tions. First, the Langdell method is not the technique
law schools of the United States. The case method is
and adjusted to the needs of the present day. It is
material, problem, lecture, and tutorial methods.
Secondly, the case method was not an outgrowth of
law and is not suited only to countries where the law
this may be true, to some extent, historically, the ca
can nevertheless still profitably be used in law schools w
is placed on statutes, as in India. The case method is a
students to develop their powers of reasoning, their abili
their capacity to think; and all of this is accomplish
fact that the laws are written or unwritten. Justice
Sir Dinshah Mulla emphasized above what can ac
the expression "case method," as practiced in the Un
ent.

51 Sastary, The Case Method of Teaching Law , 1 Indian L

sz Ibid. (Emphasis added.)

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 1959] Comments 245
Most courses in Indian law sch
method, although there are some
classes, the lack of sufficient f
serve to prolong the use of the
with 500 and more students a
circumstances, the lecture is na
if not the only feasible, method o
Although there are differing o
Indian law schools, it has long b
lectures should be supplemente
The importance of moot courts
University required twelve sitt
far, however, reached a compar
their real significance lies in t
be of great importance and hig
mere observation of formalitie
does not confer any real advant
for Indian law schools to follow
brief-writing so as to cultivate in
Tutorials or seminars, as organ
ferent than those in American
better called a "discussion class
groups of about fifteen to twe
member as assigned on a fixed
subject for which the studen
purpose is achieved by these tu
vide an opportunity for the stude
ing process.

G. The Language Problem

In India, the language medium of instruction and examination in law is
English, although some of the universities are gradually changing to Hindi
or the state languages. Delhi University, for example, affords an option
to write an examination in pleading and conveyancing either in English,
Hindi, or Urdu. The issue of whether the teaching of law should be in
Indian languages or in English is highly controversial. The present genera-
tion of lawyers and jurists who have been trained in English and those who are
desirous of keeping the profession of law within the "aristocracy" may fail
to appreciate the idea that law should be taught in native Indian languages.
Despite the fact that the teaching of law has been in English for more than
a century, Indian students still feel that it is difficult to follow exposition and
discussion in English, more difficult to think in English, and still more difficult
to write in legal English. This is evident from the report of the examiners
of Bombay University students for the LL.B. degree which emphasized that
one of the defects in the work of the examinees was : "Inability to express
in clear language what the student has in his mind." (This was the case even
though the average standard of English is higher in the presidency of Bom-
bay, Madras, and Calcutta, than the rest of the country.)

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246 Journal of Legal Education [Vol. 12

It should not be forgotten that English is not the m

Indians. Even among the educated (college graduate
guage of common use. Apart from this, most of the tr
is conducted in the Indian languages. Most of the im
such as wills, contracts, and deeds of sale and transfe
erty (including mortgage and partition agreements), w
bulk of legal work, are written in the Indian language
phere, the use of English in teaching law seems to prod
unnecessary barrier to effective instruction.
The excessive use of cram books by the Indian law stu
table to the fact that the student cannot clearly and c
is said in class. Also, they feel that they will not be a
in English what they know; hence they spend most
memorizing and cramming, rather than thinking, analyzin
of legal problems.
It is a matter for great regret that even though this basi
is well known, Indian educators are not ready to ad
farther away from correcting it. It is a serious matte
needs immediate attention. It may be noted that even
have often realized that the poor English of law studen
in the teaching of law and in producing better lawyer
in his book on Legal Education in the United States: 03
The most vocal complaint is that they are deficien
• . . Surely every law teacher, every lawyer will ag
sonable mastery of the English language is a prime quali
law student.

If "a reasonable mastery of the . . . language is a prime qualification

of the law student," then it seems fundamental that law should be taught in
the native tongue of the student.

Ill

Objectives of Legal Education

The functions of an institution can best be judged from its objectives.
Thus, the functioning of the Indian law schools can be better understood if
we know the purpose of the founders of these institutions.
It is quite difficult to find any direct evidence of the purposes of law
schools in the minds of the founders, but it can be traced by secondary evi-
dence. In 1868, Sir Fitzgerald, the Chancellor of Bombay University, in his
convocation address observed : 54

The university examination in law is not an examination in the knowl-

edge which qualifies a man to be a successful practitioner - it is not a
knowledge of cases and decisions and practice. It is a knowledge of
the principles of law and jurisprudence. It is a knowledge of the history
of law.

53 A. J. Harno, Legal Education in the United States 131 (1953),

54 Karwe, supra note 7, at 63. (Emphasis added.)

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 1959] Comments 247
Later on, in the 1920's, the C
tion in Bombay observed : 55
Law students are men of mat
have ample time to assimilate
a practice has still to be built u
admit a large amount of truth in
versity seems to have too much
case law and too little the scien
Though it is not clear what th
ciples of law," it is obvious tha
that the purpose of law schoo
practice of the legal profession
that the purpose of law school
like liberal arts training.
The following very astonishin
member of the Indian bar : 06
Time has now come when the universities must become conscious of
this change and must recognize that they, as universities, have to look
to law as a cultural, scientific and educational subject and must not be
solely guided by the needs of profession. It is not the business of the
universities to train people for the profession of law, but universities
must concern themselves with merely the broad cultural education which
a lawyer needs .
The unclear and defective conception of the purpose of the study of law
evinced by these statements appears to be the main cause of the woes of legal
education in India. By way of contrast, the Harvard Law School Catalogue
defines the purpose of American law schools as follows : 67
The school seeks as its primary purpose to prepare for the practice
of the legal profession wherever the common law prevails . It seeks to
train lawyers in the spirit of the common legal heritage of English
speaking people. Together with this purpose are two others: to train
teachers of law, to investigate problems which arise in the legal adjust-
ment of human relations , including the multiplying problems in the inter-
national field.

The matter of cost-consciousness, too, is responsible for some of the

shortcomings of legal education in India. It appears that the British Gov-
ernment of India was not interested in spending money on legal education.
It is clear from the old records that the expenses of law schools were in-
tended to be met by the tuition fees received from the students. In the
year 1890, with a view to reorganizing the Government Law College, Bombay,
a scheme of expenditures was submitted to the British Government of India.
The Government replied that a law school should be supported by the fees
it levied and also stated that the same principle was approved by them in
regard to the Law College at Madras. It was suggested that the tuition
should be so increased as to establish a closer equilibrium between the
55 ibid. (Emphasis added.)
56 Chítale, supra note 20, at 60. (Emphasis added.)
57 Law School of Habvabd University, Catalogue 11 (1958). (Emphasis add-
ed.)

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248 Journal of Legal, Education [Vol. 12

income and the expenditures of the law school.58 It ma

rejoinder to the British Government of India that t
preferred not to raise its fees, as the majority of s
from the poorer classes and even a small increase in
some of the most promising students of the university
The official records of the British Government of India reveal that some
of the law schools were making a profit of as much as 50,000 rupees ($10,-
000) a year.60 Even the Government Law College, Bombay, was contin-
uously making profits from 1910 to 1935, which in some years went as high
as 45,000 rupees ($9, 000). 61 It was also noted by the Indian University
Commission of 1902 that most of the law classes had been started by the
universities with the intent of meeting the expenses of their liberal arts
colleges with the profits of a cheaply run law department. This profit-making
purpose has been and continues in some cases to be at least a partial explana-
tion of the deplorable condition of Indian legal education.

IV
Conclusion

We cannot produce a thing for which we have no plan. The Ind

law schools and their faculties must first have a clear conception o
purpose and objectives of law school education. If, with clear-cu
well-founded ideas of legal education, they then work to reorganiz
law schools, their curricula, their methods of instruction, their syste
examination, and even their faculties, there is no reason why the Ind
law schools should not produce a better class of trained lawyers. Then
only then can India meet the criticism that,62
Our colleges of law do not hold a place of high esteem either at home
or abroad nor has law become an area of profound scholarship and en-
lightened research.
The efforts which some Indian law schools are making to organize all
law schools of the country along the lines of the Association of Amer
Law Schools will probably result in uniformly raising the standard of
education in that country. Apart from this, however, such an associa
can help to formulate valid objectives of legal education and foster a
of higher responsibility among the law schools and their faculty memb
It would be a great asset to the growth of law and legal institutions in
58 See Kar we, supra note 7.
59 iMd.
60 2 Kichey, op. cit. supra note lu, at ioz-D4. xnis report notes: "At iviaaras, ror
example, where the law college has a high reputation, the fees contributed t
university chest, after the cost of law classes had been inet, half a lakh of ru
in 1922. [sic] Even in Nagpur where the number of students has fallen from 1
107 the classes continue to be a source of income. This is partly due to the economi-
cal way in which the classes are run with a staff of three part-time lecturers for two
hours on three days a week in the Morris College." After ten years, the report end-
ing for the period 1927-32, again reads: "In most institutions income from fees
exceeds expenditures. In consequence, many law colleges are regarded as profitable
undertakings. Thus, there is no reason why considerable improvements should not
be made." Progress of Education in India, 1922-27 (1929).
61 Statement of Receipts ana Expenditures from iõòõ to lit 44 with comparative
Figures of Profit and Loss , 7 Law College Magazine 1, at 8-9 (193G).
62 University Education Commission, Legal Education in maia, 7 indián Ij.kev.
65 (1953).

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