ILS Law College Pune, Bharti Vidyapeeth Deemed University New Law College Pune, Symbiosis Law School Pune, KLE Bangalore, and NLSIU Bangalore were felicitated by the Bar Council of India (BCI) on 16 February as “outstanding” law colleges in India.

The BCI’s chairman Manan Kumar Mishra felicitated the colleges in his inaugural speech at the centenary celebrations of the regulator held on 16 and 17 February at Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi.

ILS Pune principal Vaijayanti Joshi, who is also secretary to the Indian Law Society, told Legally India that the felicitation was “in special recognition of their outstanding services to legal education”.

Joshi said: “The [BCI] chairman in his address to the Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India on the dias at Vigyan Bhavan, said that in addition to NLS Bangalore, there are other institutes which have done well, out of the 900 law colleges in India.”

She confirmed that to the best of her knowledge, this was the first time the BCI had given such awards. [Picture of Joshi with BCI trophy]

A person close to the BCI confirmed the shortlist and explained that it was decided by the chairman and the legal education committee after taking into account the colleges’ performance over the past few years.

Mishra did not return calls for comment.

Update: Mishra, commenting to Bar & Bench on 21 February, said that Amity Law School Delhi had also been facilitated, and that 15 further private colleges would receive awards in the coming year. ““It is the decision of the BCI based on the performances of the colleges,” he said. “Some of the national law schools are doing well. National law schools get huge impetus from the state government. So apart from these, we have felicitated some private institutions which have been contributing to legal education