The Government Law College, Mumbai, (GLC Mumbai), India, founded in 1855, is the oldest

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. The college, affiliated to the

University of Mumbai University of Mumbai is a public state university in Mumbai. It is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. It was est ...

, is run by the

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the executive branch of the Indian states of india, state of Maharashtra. The government is led by the List of chief ministers of Maharashtra, chief minister (currently Devendra Fadnavis since 5 December 2024) ...

. Bal Gangadhar Tilak,

Pratibha Patil Pratibha Devisingh Patil (born 19 December 1934), also known as Pratibha Patil Shekhawat, is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2007 to 2012. She was the first woman to become the president of India. A m ...

, the former

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

, and six Chief Justices of India, as well as several judges of the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

are alumni of the college.

History

Origins and founding

Until the 1850s there was no formal legal education for legal officers and lawyers in India. Sir Thomas Erskine Perry, the then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Bombay, would deliver lectures on law after court hours. These classes were held on a very informal basis and were attended only by a select group. However, it was not till Sir Perry left for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1852, that a conscious effort was made to collect funds in order to institute a chair in Jurisprudence at the Elphinstone Institution, the Perry Professorship of Jurisprudence, and Dr. R. T. Reid (first Judge of the Small Causes Court, Bombay) was appointed as the first Perry Professor of Jurisprudence. The Government Law College, the first of its kind in India, was founded in 1855 on public demand under the inspired leadership of Jagannath Shankarshet. The college has been affiliated with the

University of Bombay University of Mumbai is a public university, public List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, state university in Mumbai. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest univ ...

since 1860.

Full time institution

The name Government Law School was changed to Government Law College in 1925. It was only in 1938 that the college was converted into a full-time institution. After this change of status, the Government of Bombay decided to allocate a plot, west of Churchgate railway station for the Government Law College building. The college today stands at this location.

Academics

Curriculum

Affiliated to the Mumbai University, the Government Law College follows the semester system, and provides the 5-year integrated BLS-LLB as well as the 3-year LLB course. The 5-year course consists of a 2-year foundation in the liberal arts/sociology, followed by the 3-year curriculum of core legal subjects, which are common to the 3-year law course. Most of the 3-year law subjects are taught by practising lawyers, rather than academics, most of them teaching part-time. The teaching, pedagogy, and curriculum for the three-year program is thus geared more towards practical professional law, rather than theoretical, academic law. Current faculty include academics such as Prof Homer Pithawala as well as advocates practising in the higher judiciary. Many of the more prominent faculty are alumni of the college.

Admissions

Admission to the college is through the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test - the MH LAW CET, which was introduced in 2016. The entrance exam is compulsory for admissions for law colleges in Maharashtra, and tests legal aptitude, general knowledge, language, and reasoning skills. 85% of the seats are reserved for candidates from Maharashtra, and an overall reservation for various college seats is as high as 50%. In 2018, over 23,000 students appeared from Maharashtra, and 16,000 students appeared for the entrance test from the rest of the country for the 3-year course. The total number of seats are 240, and typical cut off ranks for students from the "Maharashtra General Category" is an all-India Rank of 200, while those of students from outside Maharashtra is about 120. The Five years law course offered by the college is also considered to be one of the best in the country in terms of internships and industry exposure. In 2018, over 15,000 students appeared for the 5-year MH LAW CET admissions test. Typical cut offs for 240 BLS-LLB seats are at All India Rank 250 for Maharashtra students belonging to the "General Category".

Academic programmes

Five Year Law Course

The B.L.S. LL.B. program is a 10-semester full-time course open to students right out of

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

(Class XII in the Indian system). The first 2 years (4 semesters) constitute a 'pre-law' course where the student is taught social-science subjects like

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

, English and legal language, logic, etc. In the next three years core law subjects, like

contracts A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

, family law, labour laws, etc. are dealt with. In their 8th and 10th semester, the students have the option of choosing some particular subjects along with some compulsory subjects. A total of 4 practical training papers are compulsory for all the students. The BLS or the Bachelor of Legal Sciences degree is awarded to the students by the

after successful completion of the 3rd year and the LLB degree is awarded after completion of 5 years. Students are eligible to exit with a Bachelor's degree in Legal Studies (BLS) at the end of 6 semesters, but cannot practise law unless they complete the course in its entirety.

Three Year Law Course

A minimum of a Bachelor's degree is required for enrolling into the LL.B. degree. The LL.B. degree is a three-year program with classes devoted solely to the study of law, and graduates are eligible to practice as an advocate, as per the Rules of the Bar Council of India. A student who desires to learn the law but does not wish to practice as an advocate is eligible for the LL.B. (General) Degree at the end of two years.

Other courses

GLC further features specialised diploma courses which include Postgraduate Diploma Course in Securities Law, Post Graduate Diploma In Intellectual Property Rights and Diploma in Cyber-Laws offered in joint-collaboration with the Asian School of Cyber Laws. Recently the college has started the Post Graduate Certificate Course in

Human Rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

. All courses are taught by leading practitioners and experts.

The Library

From its humble origins in 1856, GLC's library has grown into one of the foremost law libraries in the country, housing more than 42,000 books. In addition to its extensive collection of books and law reports drawn from all over the world, the library has maintained and preserved rare books that are out of print, some of which cannot be found in any other library in India. The Library additionally features a dedicated Electronic Research Room (ERR) for student use. The Harilal J

In 1856-57 a collection of law books was purchased for the use of the students of the college at the suggestion of Mr. E.I. Howard, Bar-at-Law and the then Director of Public Instruction. But this could only be housed at the Native General Library at Dhobi Talao for the lack of space. Eventually, in 1891, Government Law School and its Library were accommodated in

Elphinstone College Elphinstone College is one of the constituent colleges of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, a state cluster university. Established in 1856, it is one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai. It played a major role in shaping and developing the edu ...

Building at Kalaghoda and on 13 July 1891, the Government sanctioned a grant of Rs.2,000/- for the purchase of furniture and other equipment for the Law Library. Every Principal in their own way tried to enrich the library in order to make it useful to the students as well as to the practitioners. During his tenure

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...

prevailed upon the Government to make an additional grant of Rs. 1000/- which was sanctioned in 1936. The Harilal J. Kania Memorial Library and Reading Room on the third floor of the college has been a part of this college since 1952. This Reading Room was created from the Harilal J. Kania Memorial Fund, which was instituted to honour the memory of Sir Harilal J. Kania, the first

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, as recommended by the outg ...

and an ex-student of GLC. This Reading Room can accommodate as many as 200 students at a time. The other two floors, i.e. the first and the second floors of the annex building, house various books on case law, many of which are more than a hundred years old. The library enjoys the distinction of being the archival repository of the Civil Procedure Code of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

’s Courts in the presidency of Fort St. George, and the original copy of the

Indian Penal Code The Indian Penal Code (IPC) was the official criminal code of the Republic of India, inherited from British India after independence. It remained in force until it was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in December 2023 ...

as drafted by Lord Macaulay in the year 1886.

Scholarships & Awards

The college provides scholarships to meritorious students. Special awards such as the Ranganathrao Trophy, the Yashwant Dalal Cup for Overall Excellence, the Diwan Jotimal Chuganee Trophy and the B.M. Vardhan’s Trophy for best Debater/Elocutionist are instituted for the overall development of students.

Publications

The college has been publishing the college magazine since 1930 and the Law Review for the last few years.

Student life

The college is known for an active student life and college teams have a consistently exemplary record in many sports. The GLC campus is located at

Churchgate Churchgate (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʃəɾt͡ʃɡeːʈ is an area in the southern part of Mumbai, close to the Arabian Sea. The area is known for its unique architecture consisting of art deco style residential buildings, access to sportin ...

, to the west of the railway station, with close proximity to the

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the High courts of India, high court of the States and union territories of India, states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily ...

. The college has 17 classrooms, a Mooting Room, an Auditorium, an audio-visual room and a canteen for the benefit of students. The campus has a basketball court and a mini gymkhana at the back of the auditorium (for table tennis, carom, etc.). The students also use the nearby Oval Maidan or Mumbai University ground for sports such as cricket and football. The college has no hostel of its own. However, 62 seats for male students of the College in the Government Colleges Hostel, "C" Road, Churchgate and 20 Seats for male students at the

Ismail Yusuf College Ismail Yusuf College, is the fourth oldest college of Mumbai, India. ''"I Y college"'', as it is popularly known, is managed by Government of Maharashtra. It is the oldest college in North Mumbai. It was established in 1930 with a large donati ...

at Jogeshwari, Mumbai has been provided. GLC has been encouraging activities like Moot Courts, debates, essay competitions and other activities which help improving the legal knowledge and the oratory and literary skills of the aspiring candidates. Moot court competitions have been a regular feature since 1936. The student committees also encourage sports, music, dance and drama.

List of Student Committees

* Moot Court Association * Model United Nations Society * Magazine Committee * Smt. Vinatadevi Tope Social Service League * Placement Committee * Intellectual Property Rights Cell * Entrepreneurship and Leadership Cell * SPIL Mumbai * Alternative Dispute Resolution Cell * Alumni Association * Sports Committee * Rotaract Club * Leo Club * Legal Aid Committee * National Service Scheme (Unit) * Dramatics Committee * Music Circle * Hindi Parishad * Marathi Mandal * Gujurati Mandal * Bazm-E-Urdu * Debating and Literary Society * Cultural committee

Notable people

Notable alumni

Chief Architect of the Constitution of India

* Dr. B. R. Ambedkar ji, first Law Minister of India, Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee

Chief Justices of India

* Justice H. J. Kania, first

(1950-1951) * Justice P. N. Bhagwati (1985-1986) * Justice M. H. Kania (1991-1992) * Justice S. P. Bharucha (2001-2002) * Justice S. H. Kapadia (2010-2012) * Justice U. U. Lalit (2022-2022)

Chief Justice of Nepal

* Justice Surendra Prasad Singh (1995-1997)

Supreme Court and High Court judges

B. N. Srikrishna Bellur Narayanaswamy Srikrishna (born 21 May 1941) is an Indian jurist and a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. From 1993 to 1998, he headed the "Srikrishna Commission" that investigated causes and apportioned blame for the Bombay ri ...

, former Judge,

* M. C. Chagla, 1st Indian Chief Justice of Bombay High Court * R. M. Kantawala, former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court * Naresh Harishchandra Patil, former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court * Ajit Prakash Shah, former Chief Justice of

Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi ( Hindustani: दिल्ली उच्च न्यायालय; ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') is the high court in Delhi, India. It was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966. ...

* Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale, Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad

Senior Advocates

* A. G. Noorani, Senior Advocate of Supreme Court of India and of Bombay High Court * Anil Divan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India * Fali S. Nariman, Senior Advocate of Supreme Court of India and President of the Bar Association of India * H. M. Seervai, Advocate General of Maharashtra and Senior Advocate of

* Haresh Jagtiani, Senior Advocate,

* Nani Palkhivala, Senior Advocate of

and

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

expert *

Ram Jethmalani Ram Boolchand Jethmalani (14 September 1923 – 8 September 2019) was an Indian lawyer and politician. He served as India's Union Minister of Law and Justice, as chairman of the Indian Bar Council, and as the president of the Supreme Court B ...

, criminal lawyer, Senior Advocate of

* Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, Senior Advocate of

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan (; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance witPart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it h ...

, architect of the constitution of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and personal secretary to

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

Soli Sorabjee Soli Jehangir Sorabjee, AM (9 March 193030 April 2021) was an Indian jurist who served as Attorney-General for India from 1989 to 1990, and again from 1998 to 2004. In 2002, he received the Padma Vibhushan for his defence of the freedom of ex ...

, Senior Advocate of

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and former

Attorney General of India The Attorney General for India is the chief legal advisor of the Government of India. The Attorney General is appointed by the President of India at the instance of the Union Cabinet under Article 76(1) of the Constitution and hold office du ...

* Mukul Rohatgi, Senior Advocate,

and former

* Vishwajit Sawant, Senior Advocate,

* Ashok Desai, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India and former Attorney General of India

Non Legal Noted Alumni - Politicians, Freedom fighters, Reformers, Academia & Corporate Leaders

, first Law Minister of India, Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee * Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil is an Indian politician and Ex IAS, Ex Governor of Sikkim, Member of Parliament(loksabha). *

Bal Gangadhar Tilak Bal Gangadhar Tilak (; born Keshav Gangadhar Tilak (pronunciation: eʃəʋ ɡəŋɡaːd̪ʱəɾ ʈiɭək; 23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), endeared as Lokmanya (IAST: ''Lokamānya''), was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence ...

freedom fighter A freedom fighter is a person engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom, particularly against an established government. The term is typically reserved for those who are actively involved in armed or otherwise violent rebellion. Termi ...

, Noted

Educationist Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

Journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

& Prominent

Social Reformer Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...

* Smt. Pratibha Patil, former

* L. K. Advani, former

Deputy Prime Minister of India The deputy prime minister of India (IAST: ''Bhārat Ke Upapradhānamantrī''), although not a Constitutional post, is the second-highest ranking minister of the Union in the executive branch of the Government of India and is a senior member of ...

Piyush Goyal Piyush Vedprakash Goyal (born 13 June 1964) is an Indian politician who is serving as Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India), Minister of Commerce and Industry since 2019. He also served as Minister of Textiles (India), Minister of Textiles ...

, 38th Railway Minister Of India * M. G. Ranade,

social reformer Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...

and

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

* Rahul Bajaj,

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Bajaj Auto Bajaj Auto Limited ( ) is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company based in Pune. It manufactures motorcycles, scooters and auto rickshaws. Bajaj Auto is a part of the Bajaj Group. It was founded by Jamnalal Bajaj (1889–19 ...

* Asaf Ali Asghar Fyzee, Islamologist and academic * Chandrashekhar Agashe, founder of Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate * Ananth Prabhu Gurpur, Cyberlaw expert, Professor in Computer Engineering at the Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management Notable Legal Office Holders * Ashok Desai, former

Solicitor General of India The Solicitor General of India (SGI) is subordinate to the Attorney General for India. The SGI is the second-highest law officer of the country, assists the Attorney General, and is assisted by Additional Solicitors General of India (Addl. SG ...

* M. C. Setalvad, former

* Goolam Vahanvati, former

* Mukul Rohatgi, former

* T. R. Andhyarujina, former

Notable Legal Professionals

* Cyril Shroff, Managing Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas * Shardul S. Shroff, Managing Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangalada * Homer Pithawalla, Solicitor & Advocate, Supreme Courts of India, Hong Kong & England & Professor, Government Law College, Mumbai

Prominent faculty

Throughout its history, the college has had the honour of guidance from eminent legal luminaries who have adorned benches of the

and the

. The long list of legends include: * B. R. Ambedkar, former principal, first Law Minister of India and Chairman, Drafting Committee of the Constitution of India *

, Indian freedom fighter, famous as Father of Indian Discontent and one of the First Generation of Indians to have graduated. * Sir Dinshah Fardunji Mulla, former principal, Privy Councilor, founding partner of Mulla & Mulla * Nanabhoy Palkhivala, former professor, noted constitutional lawyer * M. C. Chagla, former professor, Chief Justice of

, former professor, noted criminal lawyer, * Homer Pithawalla, noted professor; solicitor of the Supreme Courts of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Law schools in Maharashtra Universities and colleges in Mumbai Universities and colleges established in 1855 Affiliates of the University of Mumbai 1855 establishments in India