The Supreme Court declined to overhaul India’s five-year LL.B. program, citing need for stakeholder input and barring judicial intervention.

The Supreme Court on March 16, 2026, said it won’t dictate changes to India’s five-year integrated LL.B. course, emphasizing that legal education reforms require broad stakeholder input, not judicial intervention. Hearing a PIL by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay calling for a four-year law degree and a Legal Education Commission, the court noted the five-year model predates modern law schools and stressed that the Bar Council of India, not the judiciary, oversees curriculum and duration. The bench, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, questioned the need for court action if universities themselves oppose the current structure and directed the case for further hearing in April 2026.