PROTECTION OF LEGAL INTERNS

Legal Status and Roadblocks for a Legal Intern

In a dynamic work place with ever growing needs in every sector one can always find the requirement of fresh graduates with not only requisite educational qualification but also some on-hand experience. As seemingly self-contradicting it sounds, these requirements are not only of the employers but also sanctioned by the statutory bodies which includes institutions like, University Grant Commission, Bar Council of India (BCI) and All India Council for Technical Education. In a cut throat work space with abundance of interns/ trainees it very surprising to know that there is no proper laws and provisions for their safety and conduct. This particular system works without any judicial or statutory regulation making it an easy prey for those who can and have the ability to exploit it. Even though there are a number of provisions and acts governing and safeguarding the rights of the employees and protecting them from any sort of misconduct and misgovernance but nowhere they discuss exclusively about interns or anything remotely close to interns and their work. There are labour laws also known as employment laws present in India which address the relationship between employer-employee and the union. It is more concerned about employee’s rights at work. Apart from the labour laws we can also find Apprentices Act, 1961 and similarly there is no mention of Interns in it.

The problem with internships arises when they start exploiting the interns physically, mentally