MUMBAI, July 21 -- The state's higher and technical education department has given 103 law colleges in Maharashtra six months to obtain approval from the Bar Council of India (BCI) after it was found that they were offering law courses without renewing their five-yearly mandatory BCI recognition. The decision has raised concerns among students, who are questioning what will happen if the colleges fail to secure approval within the given time. The admission process for law courses has already begun through the State Common Entrance Test cell. During the verification of colleges before admissions, the department checked whether they had approval from the state government, the concerned university and the BCI. It was found that 103 out of 352 law colleges in the state did not have BCI approval. Initially, the government considered keeping these colleges out of the admission process. However, officials said this would have resulted in thousands of seats remaining vacant, affecting the students seeking admission. Keeping the interests of the latter in mind, the department decided to allow the colleges to participate in admissions, and gave them six months to obtain BCI recognition. Higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil has directed the concerned colleges to complete the process immediately. The issue has raised questions about the regulation of legal education in the state. A senior Bar Council member said that after the Supreme Court's order on legal education in February, the BCI appointed a committee headed by a retired judge to review the academic standards and inspect law colleges before granting approval. Student groups have welcomed the government's efforts to improve the quality of legal education but have expressed concern over the future of students taking admission to these colleges. "The state government move is a good one for controlling the quality of legal education," said Sachin Pawar, a law student. "However, students should not suffer because of delays by colleges. The government should either extend the deadline to one year so that students can complete an academic year or come up with a permanent solution before allowing such colleges to admit candidates."...