In a milestone judgment, the Supreme Court has confirmed the entitlement of convicted murderers to pursue law courses online, dismissing appeals by the Bar Council of India (BCI). The judgment has raised questions over the rehabilitative function of education and the confines of legal education.
The top court, led by Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, severely reprimanded the BCI’s opposition, terming it a “rigid” mindset that goes against reform. “Why is BCI opposing a direction like this? This is reformative,” the bench scolded, highlighting the power of education to transform.
The BCI argued that offering online legal studies to prisoners would set an uncomfortable precedent, since legal education has historically been classroom and experiential. The Supreme Court firmly dismissed this, however, holding that prison education is a key part of rehabilitation and reform.
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Justice Surya Kant also condemned the interference by the BCI, stating, “BCI should not interfere at all in legal education. It should be left to jurists and scholars.” The court also noted that the BCI’s petition was unduly delayed by 394 days, prejudicing its credibility.
This legal battle began in November 2023 when the Kerala High Court allowed two murder convicts, Pattakka Suresh Babu and V Vinoyi, to study law courses online. The two convicts had cleared entrance exams, and the high court emphasized that education is a fundamental right that cannot be denied to prisoners.
Suresh Babu is pursuing law from KMCT Law College, Kuttipuram, and V Vinoyi is pursuing from Sree Narayana Law College, Poothotta, Ernakulam.
The Supreme Court judgment is a milestone in the thinking regarding the education of prisoners as a rehabilitation process instead of a privilege to be denied. Although the argument still goes on, the judgment certainly widens the ambit of second chances to prisoners looking for individual change.
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