Staff Reporter :
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Wednesday fined two private universities Tk 1 million each for violating a provision of University Grants Commission (UGC) in admitting students in the Law department.
The private universities are Stamford University and Dhaka International University.
A bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order after hearing a petition.
The Supreme Court, however, upheld the High Court order directing the Bangladesh Bar Council to allow the candidates who passed law from the two universities to fill up their forms and registration card so that they can appear for the Bar Council test.
As per the UGC provision, a private university can’t admit more than 50 students in LLB program in one semester. But some private universities, including the two, violated the provision.
Advocate A Y Moshiuzzaman appeared in the court on behalf of Bangladesh Bar Council.
The lawyer said, “Stamford University and Dhaka International University admitted more than 50 students in one semester violating the UGC and Bangladesh Bar Council’s provision. That is why the court fined them Tk 1 million each.”
The private universities have been asked to deposit the money to the Lever Transplant Unit in BIRDEM hospital within 15 days after getting the certified copy of the court order.
The University Grants Commission on April 23 in 2014 issued a circular saying that the private universities of the country can’t admit more than 50 students in LLB program in one semester.
Recently the Bangladesh Bar Council announced that they will not issue the registration cards for appearing in the bar council test to the law graduates of those universities which violated the UGC and Bar Council condition. In this circumstance, the victim students filed a writ petition with the High Court to get registration cards for Bar Council test.
After hearing, the High Court directed the Bar Council to give the opportunities to the students to appear in the Bar Council test.
Later Bar Council appealed against the High Court order which came to the Wednesday’s cause-list of the Appellate Division.
