Bombay HC Extends Law Admission Deadline to Aug 9 as GLC Gets BCI Nod
The Bombay High Court extended the college option form deadline to August 9 for law admissions across Maharashtra on Thursday, alongside crucial approvals from the Bar Council of India for Government Law College, Mumbai, and 18 other institutions. The developments came as the State CET Cell proposed major changes to the Centralised Admission Process rules to ease the ongoing admission crisis for law aspirants.
Under the extended schedule, candidates applying for both the three-year LLB and the five-year integrated LLB programmes will have additional time until August 9 to fill and submit their college preferences. The deadline extension was granted on Thursday morning by the Bombay High Court.
In a major development for applicants, Government Law College (GLC) in Mumbai received its approval from the Bar Council of India (BCI). GLC and approximately 18 other law colleges are expected to be added to the State CET Cell's admission portal by Friday, bringing the total count of available colleges to 120.
Additionally, on Thursday evening, the State CET Cell submitted a proposal to the state government seeking to relax admission rules. Under the proposed changes, candidates would no longer be forced to accept admission if they are allotted their first-preference college, allowing them to reject the seat and continue participating in subsequent CAP rounds. The CET Cell also recommended allowing candidates to submit fresh option forms before every admission round to revise preferences as more institutions receive clearance.
State CET Cell Commissioner Dileep Sardesai confirmed that the proposal has been sent to the state government and is awaiting approval. He noted that the changes were suggested to alleviate student anxiety caused by delayed institutional approvals during this admission season.
Data from the Directorate of Higher Education as of August 5 showed that only 102 colleges offering the three-year LLB course with 10,105 seats, and 66 colleges offering the five-year programme with 5,955 seats, were initially cleared for the first round. This limited intake had created severe strain for nearly 54,000 applicants for the three-year course and 20,000 applicants for the five-year programme.
