Excellent topic and one that merits far greater discussion than what we’ve had so far. I have a couple of small points to add:
1. It’s necessary to talk about evaluation reform. But I think the larger question of why we have law schools should be answered first to tackle the former question effectively. In your post you mention examinations “that encourage greater creativity and writing requirements that instil research skills” are required. It’s a sentiment that can’t be disagreed with. But the question is- what type of research skills- of a practising lawyer, an academic, or perhaps even an activist or perhaps a mixture of these and some other factors depending on courses. Essentially my point is that evaluation reform is an extremely relevant issue, but that the devil really lies in the detail and it raises larger questions of the purpose of legal education in India, which I think at this stage is at best fuzzy.
Second, you talk about the BCI wanting to develop a software for plagiarism detection with a private company. But there are some rather good softwares in the market which are already available and fairly accurate. What I have in mind is stuff like TurnItIn. Many universities use it, and as has recently come to my attention, many IB schools in India as well. The BCI or the law schools don’t have to think about this one too hard, unlike the first one.