First things First:

The first step towards being recognized as a political party is to get registered with the Election Commission of India. Registration is mandatory for a party, following which it can avail the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Presently, India has over 1,600 registered political parties and 400 of them were formed within the last five years.

Application Process for registration of a political party in India:

Within first thirty days of its formation the party should submit an application for registration to the Secretary to the Election Commission of India, Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road, New Delhi-110001. The commission already has a prescribed proforma, which the party can either procure from the Commission’s office or by post. Besides proforma, relevant guidelines are also available on the Commission’s website.

Every application needs to be neatly typed on the party’s letter head (if any) and sent either by registered post or presented personally. The Election Commission generally takes about four months to process the requests of the new political entities.

Documents to be provided during Registration:

The application for registration should be accompanied by the following documents:

1. A demand draft of Rs. 10,000 drawn in favour of Under Secretary, Election Commission of India. This processing fee is non-refundable.
2. A neatly printed copy of the rules and regulations/Constitution of the party. The document must include the provisions regarding “organizational elections at different levels and the periodicity of such elections and terms of office of the office-bearers of the party.” It must also state the procedure to be adopted in case of merger and dissolution.
3. A copy of the party’s constitution, which is authenticated by the General Secretary/President/Chairman of the party. It should also bear the seal of the signatory.
4. An affidavit which declares that no member of the party has a membership with any other political party registered with the Election Commission.
5. Extracts from the latest electoral rolls of at least 100 members of the party as an evidence that they are registered voters.
6. Individual affidavits are also needed as a declaration that the members of the party are registered voters and not members of any other political party.
7. Details of bank accounts and Permanent Account Number (if any) in the name of the party.

8. Adding to these, every office bearer of the party must furnish details pertaining to assets and investments made by them and their spouse and children.

Eligibility Criteria for Forming a Political Party:

As per the Election Commission’s mandate, a new political party must have at least 100 members to apply for political certification. Each member needs to hold a voting card, which clearly implies that individuals should be above the age of 18.

Registration Procedure:

The commission allows 30 days to the public to raise objections, if any. Interim, the representatives of the political party must issue notices in newspapers and declare their intention of forming a new political entity. At the end of the 30-day window, if no objections are raised, the commission scrutinizes the documents submitted by the party. Within four or five months the party representatives can expect to receive registration confirmation.

Once the party is registered with the commission, it becomes obligatory for the party leaders to choose an election symbol from the ones available with the election commission. If the members don’t find any of the symbols fit enough for their party, they can pick a symbol on their own and submit a sketch to the commission for approval.

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He was the Founder Director of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) and the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, besides the Founder Vice Chancellor of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS). Prof Menon introduced the five-year professional law education in the country.

Beginning his legal career as an advocate at the Kerala High Court in 1956, Mr Menon shifted his base to Delhi, after first joining the faculty of Aligarh Muslim University in 1960 and then to Delhi University in 1965, where he became Professor and Head of the Campus Law Centre.

In 1986, Mr Menon moved to Bangalore at the invitation of Bar Council of India to set up the National Law School of India University and to initiate a new model of legal education, the Five Year Integrated LL.B. programme.

After his retirement, he settled in the capital city and served as the chairman of the prestigious Centre for Development Studies, here for two terms, before calling it a day, a few years back.

Madhava Menon was credited for changing the face and fate of Indian legal education system by introducing the culture of NLUs in India. Though, I am not a supporter of the growing NLU educative system but yet, we can say that the popularization of the five year integrated graduation in law was a brainchild of Prof. Menon.

Prof. Menon was the person behind the idea of NLSIU Bangalore and National Judicial Academy, Bhopal. He was the founder VC of NUJS, Kolkata.

The idea of discarding the three year law degree course and introducing the five year integrated course has not only given the students, a chance to decide about their future in a rather early stage but also glamorized the legal education narrative in a positive way. If his suggestions were followed in totality, we could have easily achieved a better place in legal education in world.

I remember, in year 2017 during the SAARC Moot in Lloyd Law College, Noida, for the first time I saw Prof. Menon speaking. He spoke mainly about youths and students in the law field. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s stature and feelings, still I would say that though he was the oldest on the stage, but he was the youngest and energetic in his opinions and suggestions about the law field.

Prof. Menon was also criticized at times for supporting the South Indians more than the North Indians. I met him subsequently in 2018, but honestly speaking in these two short meetings I never felt so. Prof. Menon has given us as much as he could without any prejudice for Northern or Southern India. Categorizing him in the regional frames will be nothing, but a grave injustice to that great personality.

When I heard the news of his sorrowful demise, I couldn’t believe that our hero has gone. My condolences are with his family and students. May he take birth on this land yet again, and this time instead of academics, lead his life striving to revolutionalise the profession.

The post Prof. (Dr) N.R. Madhava Menon, Remembering the Pioneer of Legal Education in India appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

Legal Desire Media and Publications invites application for an exciting writing internship programme for the young law students who can write fairly and fearlessly upon various issues related to law field. 

A few broad areas are: 

Legal Case Update: In Legal Case Update section a writer is expected is write upon various cases which are ongoing in Indian as well as Foreign Courts.

Politics and Governance: In Politics and Governance section a writer is expected to write upon the current socio-legal issues related to the Policy making and governance.

Law School Corner: In Law School Corner section a writer is expected to write upon the various issues related to life of a law student in a law school and about various interesting things that happen in the campuses of Law schools in India and Abroad.

Interviews: Interviews section of Legal Desire is quite famous and well known for the guests who have appeared in our interviews so far. As a writer/interviewer you will have to take telephonic interviews of a list of eminent personalities of the legal field.

Legal Opinion and Analysis: In this section a writer is expected to write upon the various issues which require legal opinion and analysis.

Others: In others option, one may specify that if he/she wishes to write upon something else than the options available above. For example: Book Review etc.

(YOU CAN CHOOSE ONLY ONE OF THE OPTIONS AVAILABLE IN THE FORM.)

Who can apply?

Any Law Student studying in any year of his three year or five years law degree in any college recognized by the Bar Council of India.

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Fill up the Google Form, Click Here

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1. An Internship Certificate by Legal Desire Media and Publications on completion of 3 months internship period.
2. Publication opportunity in Legal Desire International Journal on Law (ISSN: 2347-3525)

Last date to apply is Wednesday, 20th February, 2019. 

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There are 17 lakh lawyers in the BCI. The BCI further demanded that the budgetary fund would be managed by the state bar councils and the ratio to be distributed to different state bar councils shall be decided by the apex bar body. It also demanded that the government should frame schemes to acquire lands at cheaper and necessary changes in the legal services authority act so that functions under the act could be discharged by the lawyers and not by the judges or judicial officers only.

However, it is to be noted that in the case of Ex-Captain Harish Uppal vs. Union of India in the year 2002, a three Judges bench of the Supreme Court has held that lawyers do not have the right to strike. The BCI statement came in such a time when the general elections of 2019 are going to be held very soon and it is obvious that these demands are probably not going to be met by the centre anytime soon. Interestingly, this is also being seen as a political move by the BCI Chairperson Mishra, who hails from Bihar and has been a member of the Indian National Congress. He has contested assembly election as a candidate of INC from the Bainkunthpur constituency in 2010.

The Bar Council of India through a press release dated February 12, 2019, has further informed that a joint meeting comprising of representatives of all State Bar Councils, Co-ordination Committee of Bar Associations of Delhi & NCR and other Bar Associations of the country will be convened on March 2, 2019, in the premises of Bar Council of India.

The decision for a general meeting of these committees was taken after the demands were rejected by the Union Law Minister and Senior Advocate Ravi Shankar Prasad. Moreover, he said in the meeting that a committee of lawyers and officials would be constituted to propose ways in which welfare measures for lawyers may be introduced. But at this moment he cannot grant any corpus fund from the Union Government for the purpose of welfare measures of the lawyers.

BCI press release states that it is “dissatisfied and dismayed on the hollow assurances given by the Union Government. The Bar was under the impression that after witnessing the Unity and Reaction of about 18 lakhs lawyers of the country, the Government would accept the genuine demands of the lawyers.”

Read the Press Release of the BCI dated 12/02/2019 here:

http://www.barcouncilofindia.org/press-release-dated-12-02-2019-of-bar-council-of-india-after-the-peaceful-protest-rally-seeking-genuine-welfare-demands-of-the-advocates-from-the-government-and-after-meeting-with-honble-law-ministe/

Read the Press Release of the Government of India dated 12/02/2019 here:

http://www.barcouncilofindia.org/government-of-india-press-release-after-bar-council-of-india-protest-rally-on-12-02-2019-and-after-the-delegations-meeting-with-honble-law-minister-and-subsequent-to-bcis-press-release/

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The violence over an eve teasing issue which erupted between students of B.Tech and KSOL (KIIT School of Law) in late November 2018 shocked the entire nation. The KIIT University even issued a sine die order for the law courses with immediate effect but later on that notice was reversed due to growing media pressure. Not only KIIT but in BHU as well, where the law students were debarred from examination on the basis of short attendance. Surprisingly, the Universities are giving a greater importance to the administration than the students. As a result, the students of law are forced to live in a fearsome situation of administrative action. How can we even imagine that these lawyers of tomorrow will be able to protect the people from injustice if they themselves are the victims of injustice? Let’s see what are the key reasons for this status of legal education in India:

The growing NLU Culture

The culture of modern day five year integrated law degree course began with the idea and vision of noted legal luminary Dr. N.R. Madhava Menon, who is also called as pioneer of legal education in India. Dr. Menon was the person who played a key role in establishing the NLSIU Bangalore in its preliminary days. The National Law University chain of legal educators and institutions which began with the NLSIU, NALSAR and NUJS is now growing every year with 21 NLUs at present. In NLUs, there is only one discipline that is legal education, which can be further bifurcated as corporate law branch, IPR, Forensics and Human Rights etc. There is “N” number of options available to a law student while selecting his honors papers.  Though the NLU culture has definitely grown up with almost every other state having its own National Law University, there is something we have failed to understand is that are we producing the required number of specialized professors in comparison of the growing number of specialized courses on our highly esteemed academic prospectus? The answer is No. Every single university today is lacking the number of specialized professors needed in order to run their courses. Imagine of a situation where an Investment Law Professor is teaching the Environment Law paper in an NLU.

(Oh wait, no need to imagine, visit your nearest NLU and see what’s going on?)

The Private Players

Today we have so many private players on our chart that it is even tough to differentiate between their names. We have a detergent king’s university, we have a steel giant’s university and yes of course, we have a Media house running its own university. Welcome to the new India. Post liberalization the education sector became a market for the private players. 10,500 in 2008 to around 52,000 in 2018, an increase of almost 19% annually!

Which business grows by this pace today? NLUs and Traditional Universities can hardly accommodate 5-6 K applicants. The rest are left to the fate of private universities. These private players provide specialization in each and every topic on this earth. If you were an IIT aspirant but failed to get one and opted for law, we have some private universities offering B.Tech LL.B. programme which is a six years integrated engineering plus law course. These private universities take hefty amount from the students in the name of providing world class education. The sad reality is that most of them don’t even have the required number of faculty members. In such a tough situation, Professors from NLUs play a vital role by agreeing for the guest lectures which in turn harms the students of NLUs as their classes are erupted. So in either way injustice is done with the future of law students.

Traditional Universities and the “Uncle Lobby”

Traditional Universities like Allahabad University, Banaras Hindu University and Delhi University have their own trustworthy image in the mind of Indian conventional legal system. These universities are primarily famous for their three year degree course but they have entered into the field of five year integrated degree programme as well. In these universities apart from inter-departmental conflicts the conflict do exists between the students of five year course and three years course. Often it is seen that the Professors also play their own part in the conflict. One of the major drawbacks of such rift is that the education system is fractured by the internal game of dirty politics.

Indian Judiciary is often accused of being operated by the generations of a few families. The infamous concept of “Uncle Judges” is also very popularly criticized. But the sad reality is that it’s not only the case with the judiciary. Most of the eminent professors and academicians of present generation are the products of these traditional universities. An entire chain has been created in the present day legal academia of the country which runs on the basis of fiduciary relationships which is created amongst the erstwhile batches of these varsities. This “Uncle Lobby” plays an important role in fresh appointment of professors in the newly established universities like NLUs and Private ones. This lobby often ignores the potential of the deserving candidates which definitely harms the legal education system in our country.

The need of intervention by BCI

Bar Council of India being the supreme regulator of the legal education and profession in our country should step in and intervene in these issues in a positive way. People were expecting responses from the BCI during the KIIT University incident but even when the news of sine die was coming out, the BCI remained silent. If the supreme body of legal profession chooses to be silent on such issues where the rights of the budding lawyers is being threatened by the administrative forces of any University then what remedy do we have? In my view, BCI should play a more participative role not only in the process of affiliation but should also take suo motu cognizance of such activities in the law schools of the country. We hope that the Bar Council of India will play a more vital role in the upcoming years to ensure that such unfortunate incidents do not happen in future in any law school of India.

The post Why we need to revisit the system of Law Schools in India? appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

Vishal Kumar Singh interviewed Mr. Prakash, Here’s candid conversation: 

Tell us about your journey to the law college. How did you choose law as a career option?

I have completed my graduation in Political Science and I completed my 3 year law degree from the Allahabad University in 2015. I had interest in the field of political science and pursued it with my interest in legal studies.

What basically inspired you to opt for the pro-bono litigation?

–          During my students days I was very interested in the Human Rights issue and I got to develop my interest in the field of social service through an interest in the Human Rights Law Network. I formed a group for minority group for the Christian and minority group. I worked with HRLN for rain water conservation and hunger death. I did field visits. HRLN chose me student of Human Rights. I attended meetings of acid attack victims etc. As a student, I did 16 PILs in the Hon’ble Allahabad High Court in around one and a half years, which is still a record in entire Uttar Pradesh. These PILs were helpful for the society but at the same time these PILs also helped me to grow as a lawyer in Human Rights field.

Tell us about your first Public Interest Litigation

–          My first PIL was regarding the hunger death issue in Uttar Pradesh. At first I was scared but gradually I got to contest that case successfully. I learned the legal drafting, fact finding etc for the PIL and during this process, I realized that there is nothing like Shining India that ever existed. I got the opportunity to personally argue in this matter before the Allahabad High Court. Arguing before Allahabad High Court was not an easy task. A lot of senior lawyers were there and as an intern it was my first time before any bench. So, I was a bit nervous but as it was for the sake of society, I realized that I have a greater responsibility and thus, I got the fair order from the court. But my first interesting PIL was regarding the issue of entrance of girls in the library of Aligarh Muslim University in which the girls were banned from entry in the library in night. I made a report and presented before the hon’ble Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.  The court issued a notice to the Vice Chancellor of the AMU and this rule was changed by the AMU. So, this was a very practical experience which helped me to connect to the day to day issues which people face but they never speak.

You have worked with an Organization called the Freedom Firm for 18 months. What did you do there?

–          In Freedom Firm is a Pune based organization and I worked as the Legal Advisor of the firm. It worked in the field to provide relief to the Human Trafficking Victims particularly girls who were in their adolescence. I worked in Meerut, Pratapgarh, Allahabad districts of UP and I was lucky enough to be with them in a few rescue operations and raids. I helped in rescuing 7 girls in a raid in Ratlam city. I also played a very crucial role in closing down the Red Light area in Allahabad. The court passed an order to vacate that area. The court also ordered health check up of rescued girls. Lately, 80 more girls were rescued.

What are the current issues you are working on?

–          Currently, I am working for the release of 3000 prisoners who illegally jailed in various prisons in UP. These prisoners are in jail for more than around 20 years and they are old, ill and disabled. UP government does not have any rules and guidelines for the release of these prisoners. On 26^th January 2019 i.e., on the occasion of Republic Day, around 1800 prisoners will be released from various prisons in UP. Prior to this, I raised the issue of Deoria Shelter Home Case in which the court ordered for the proper guidelines regarding managing the shelter homes. A team of 16 interns is working with me and till date around 300 law students have interned with me who have worked with me on various human rights issues so far.

Uttar Pradesh is turning into Encounter Pradesh. What are your views on it and what HRLN is doing in this regard?

–          The HRLN has sent a lot of applications to the National Human Rights Commission in this regard. In last one and half year the new government in the state has done 1200 fake encounters in which around 50 people were killed. Most of the deceased persons are either from the minority community or from the dalit community. The current government has developed a trend to kill the innocent and poor people and protect the aids or goons supported by the local leaders of the ruling party. This is not a duty of the state to do encounters. Even the Hon’ble Supreme Court has scolded the state government on this issue and strictly said that these encounters are not justified in any way. In the case of PUCL it has been already held that these encounters are purely illegal and have no justification. It is a sheer violation of the Human Rights.

Uttar Pradesh is being the soft target for the mob lynching and killings. What are your views and what is your finding in this regard?

–          Recently our team visited in Meerut district in which during a flag march a mob lynching and murder was committed. The main agenda of this government is to make anti-muslim policies and divide the common masses in the name of religion. The government even shut down the slaughterhouses in UP. The court ordered to open the slaughterhouses and instructed to make rules in that regard. The government is focused more upon cows than human beings. Even in Goa and North-Eastern States the BJP government has not banned beef but in UP, they have banned it. The present government is playing dirty politics in the name of Hindutva. Due to this a lot of lynching incidents have been reported and the government is responsible for this.

A whole new breed of lawyers is being prepared in the Law Schools around the country who are more interested in the Corporate law sector instead of Human Rights. What are your views on this?

–          I wish that the students should opt for the social litigation and pro-bono cases. The coming generations of law need to stand for the women, dalits and minorities in the society. Law field is a great career option and it’s a way of giving back what you have earned from the society. Corporate law is also a great and promising career option, big corporate houses can afford great lawyers and pay a hefty amount in fees but we should understand that the young lawyers need to stand for such people who do not have means to access to justice.

The post “During the filing of my first PIL, I realized that there is nothing like Shining India.”- Adv. Charlie Prakash appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

Central Universities, National Law Universities, Traditional Universities and Private Universities:

Before going into the operational details of the academics and co-curricular activities of a law school, one needs to know about institutions which are imparting legal knowledge in the India. Here are the details:

Central Universities are those universities which are entirely funded by the Central Government. In 2009, Central Universities Act was passed by the Parliament under which 16 Central Universities were established by the government. Currently, there are two central varsities which provide five year integrated law program- Central University of South Bihar and Central University of Kashmir.

Merits: Inter-departmental interactions which develops an inter-disciplinary approach and Affordable fees.

Demerits: University’s rule may be in conflicts with the law school rules and regulations which may at times, lead to miscarriage of professional opportunities. 

National Law Universities are the universities especially established for the sole purpose of providing professional infrastructure to the students of 5 year law courses. There are 18 NLUs at present in India.

Merits: Provides professional environment to the law students.

Demerits: Lack of inter-disciplinary holistic education, Fee structure is generally high and Law graduates from NLUs, generally inclined towards corporate law sector and firm culture which means that we are losing on our pro-bono side.

Traditional Universities are the universities like BHU, AMU, DU and Allahabad University which run 3 year and 5 year law courses (except DU).

Merits: Affordable Fees, Multi-disciplinary approach, Experienced and Expert team of faculties.

Demerits: Student Politics, Irregular classes and lack of professionalism.

Private Universities are those privately owned institutions which are actively imparting legal education in India. For eg: Amity, Lloyd, Symbiosis etc.

Merits: Corporate approach, Placements and exposure to International opportunities.

Demerits: High fees and if you are not in a reputed private college then it may not be beneficial for you.

Major activities in a Law School (5 year integrated program):

1.      Moot Court: Moot Court is an exercise conducted upon any fictitious problem related to law in which law students take part by preparing pleadings, submitting memorials and arguing before the court. This exercise has been brought up in order to ensure that the law students are well aware of the basic ethics and documentation involved in a law suit. Students have to make a team of 3 (exceptionally 4 in certain cases) people- which consists of 2 oralists and 1 researcher. More than hundred mooting competitions are held in India every year by various colleges.

2.      Paper Presentation and Publication: Researching is an integral part of the journey of a law school. The better you research, the sharper you are. Writing good papers and getting them published not only helps in career but also indulges you in diversified studies and develops good habits like book reading in you, which in turn pays you back in the long run. Call for papers are invited by various institutions and journals, one can explore and get published. Presentation develops your oratory skills while publication opportunities strengthen your research skills.

3.      Parliamentary Debates: India follows parliamentary democratic form of governance. So it is advisable for the law students to take part in the Parliamentary Debates to get clarity in their views regarding the political and current state of affairs.

4.      Seminars and Conferences: Legal studies’ is a subject which is beautified by the fragrance of almost every subject matter. A law student should actively take part in seminars and conferences so that he/she can get his/her conceptions clear about any issue directly through the experts of that particular field.

5.      Other activities: Any activity which has not been included above can be included in this. This includes- Essay writing competitions, Judgment writing competitions, Client counseling competitions, Negotiation meets and street plays etc.

These are the major activities which a law student can do in a law school.

Now the question that if the students are indulged in these activities how well can they manage their academics?

A law student has to study around 60 papers in 10 semesters. These papers include almost all the spheres of law. Passing the exams may at times seem to be tough. In fact, there is a misnomer or rather a myth that if you have to excel in academics you will have to stay away from the co-curricular activities. This is the biggest lie that our law school ancestors have spread so far. One can easily manage his/her time and excel both in studies and activities.

How to manage time?

Before opting out any course after completion of the 12^th class, think, rethink and repeat-then choose any course of the options available before you. Never choose law school just because you couldn’t get any IIT or MBBS college. Choose the law program only if you are interested, else it will be better if you take one year break and then decide a course for yourself. If you are passionate enough for law and lucky enough to get in any NLU or Central University, then you have a whole world of opportunities before you.

Here are a few easy techniques to manage your precious time between studies and co-curricular activities in a law school:

1.      Make a routine: Include everything in your routine from time of studies to time of your sports and chilling out time. If you are in a hostel, then it is easier to follow your routine as it will be regulated by your mess timings.

2.      Make a list of activities of your interest and divide them in parts in an order that ensures that you do/perform at least 6 activities per semester apart from your studies and academics.

3.      Make a schedule of events in various categories like- National and International, Mooting and Paper Publications etc.

4.      Set deadlines: It is generally seen that law students are complaining about deadlines. Set a deadline for every activity and stick to them.

5.      Be honest to yourself and take part in only those activities in which you are interested by heart. never take part or perform any activity just because of peer presure.

By following these easy steps, a law student can easily manage his/her time and achieve success as well. After completion of 2 years of law school any prudent student will be able to decide his/her area of interest and if he/she performs the activities accordingly, he/she will be definitely successful. In this regard, it can also be said that internships also shape the future of a law student. It is advisable to choose only such internships that are of your interest and can help you in future as well.

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He further suggests that the national bar associations should adopt a three-point programme:

• ·      First, the urgent need to re-discover and reaffirm the profession’s ‘moral foundation’(that will help refurbish its image).
• ·      Second, to inculcate ethical principles in minds of young lawyers(and do remember people learn by examples, not by precept).
• ·      Third, to promote morally responsible and responsive lawyering or as they say, ‘Make Lawyers good’.

In fifth chapter of this book Mr. Nariman acts as an advisor to the law students and the budding lawyers. His 28 point advice to the young lawyers can be summarized in a nutshell by this statement ,which is again a piece of advice, which was given to Mr. Nariman by eminent jurist, CK Daphtary, that it is better to spend more time thinking about the case than merely reading its brief. Chapter six, is very important from the point of view of Mr. Nariman’s personal life as well as the Life of Whole Nation because it deals with the Indira phase of Indian Governance. During this period he was appointed as ASG(Additional Solicitor General) of  India. The next chapter i.e. chapter seven can be read as an extensive part of chapter six as in this chapter he tells us about his shift from Bombay (now Mumbai) to Delhi. As an ASG of India he appeared in many cases for the Union of India in Supreme Court, and some of the more important ones in the high courts. Chapter eight gives a detailed insight of the National Emergency in 1975, when he was the Additional Solicitor General of India. Fali S. Nariman recounts his own defiance against autocratic rule when he resigned from the post of Additional Solicitor General of India in opposition to the declaration of Internal Emergency in 1975 by the Indira Gandhi government, being the only public officer in the country to have registered his protest against the suppression of civil liberties. Chapter nine is again an extension to the chapter eight which further describes the life inside and outside the courts during the emergency and post-emergency period. Tenth chapter talks about the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in which Mr. Nariman the lead counsel for the Union Carbide Corporation received severe criticisms while representing the company. For appearing in this case from the defendants’ side, he was widely criticized and his reputation as a human rights activist and lawyer was questioned.

In the eleventh chapter Mr. Nariman have written about his Holiness Dalai Lama and the idol of humanity, Mother Teresa. He writes, Yes, good things like Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa do happen, and we all are richer by the reason of this happening. Chapter twelfth Nariman remembers those days when he was the standing counsel in the Supreme Court for the state of Gujarat in a PIL filed on behalf of the tribals who were displaced by the rising height of the Narmada Dam in Gujarat. In chapter thirteen, author have deeply analyzed the working of federal(at least ,quasi federal) system of governance in India through his expert views on the interstate disputes, which he dealt with during that period. Chapter fourteen is a judicious take on some of the judges of the supreme court.  Chapter fifteen deals with his view on the Judicial Governance and Judicial Activism as well. Chapter sixteen of the book, is about a case he Won – But he Would have preferred lost. Criticizing his own win, Mr. Nariman writes “I don’t see what is so special about the first five judges of the Supreme Court. They are only the first five in seniority of appointment – not necessarily in superiority of wisdom or competence. I see no reason why all the judges in the highest court should not be consulted when a proposal is made for appointment of a high court judge (or an eminent advocate) to be a judge of the Supreme Court. I would suggest that the closed-circuit network of five judges should be disbanded.”Chapter seventeenth is about Mr.Nariman’s career as a parliamentarian and a member of the upper house (RajyaSabha) of the Parliament. Chapter eighteen can be read as a concluding remark of his autobiography. Finally he winds up by thanking the secular India “I have lived and flourished in a secular India. In the fullness of time if God wills, I would also like to die in a secular India”.

Mr. Fali Sam Nariman, the legal luminary, lifts the dark veil from the facts long shielded from public view in “Before Memory Fades”. He truly serves us shining examples of the exceptions, both of the bench and the bar. 

The post “I have lived and flourished in a secular India. In the fullness of time if God wills, I would also like to die in a secular India”- Fali S. Nariman appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

If we look at the appointments in NGT or even in the NHRC, we can easily find the retired judges sitting on the top posts.  This means that actually, we are not letting the younger generations to enter into such domains of alternate jurisdictions, which also means that the retired judges working post-retirement are already exhausted. How can a judge who says that he is already exhausted due to the burden of cases can work efficiently and do justice with any tribunal or commission? In fact, section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure is not applied in its purest sense in order to dispose of the cases through alternate judicial mechanisms. As an intern, I have worked on the cases involving the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. In most of the cases, the parties were not satisfied with the arbitral award and wished to move to the court through an OMP (Ordinary Miscellaneous Petition).  Also, a major drawback with the Act of 1996 is that the parties still have to approach the court for the purpose of enforcement of the awards. So, practically speaking as of now, we don’t have the clear-cut solution for the proper alternate judicial mechanism. Also, after the prolonged process of appointment of the members and chairperson of any tribunal, we come to know that the decision is not binding. In such a situation how long can we rely on alternative mechanisms? Another perspective to this can be that of Professor Freeman’s approach which basically says that anything under the sun is a subject to judicial review. But in recent days when we are facing a tough situation both in and out the judiciary, we need more such binding alternate jurisdictions to emancipate the traditional judicial models from the burden of cases. At the same time, we need to maintain the credibility of the court because if we lose the credibility, we lose the paramount space that the judiciary holds in our nation.

Hope that the justice is secured!

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In the case of Dr. Avinash Samal v. State of Chhattisgarh, Hon’ble Chhattisgarh High Court quashed the extension of Dr. Singh’s tenure. The students in accordance and due respect to the High Court’s judgment demanded removal of Dr. Singh as the VC.

Now after this, the Chancellor of the varsity appointed Mr. Ravi Shankar Sharma- Principal Secretary of Law, State of Chhattisgarh as the interim Vice Chancellor of the HNLU.

Further on September 20^th, 2018 the Hon’ble Supreme Court stayed the order of the Chhattisgarh High Court and thus, the tenure of Dr. Sukhpal Singh was extended accordingly.

On September 25^th, 2018 Dr. Singh rejoined the HNLU as its VC. Around 800 students of the university signed a no-confidence letter against reinstatement of Dr. Singh as the Vice Chancellor on the grounds of his being arbitrary and discriminative in the decision making.

The students started their protest in this regard which lasted more than a week and on October 1^st, 2018 they decided to go on indefinite hunger strike with the three major demands:

1. Removal of Dr. Sukhpal Singh from the post of Vice Chancellor.
2. Access to the Audit Report of the University.
3. Formation of a Review Committee that will review the provisions of the HNLU Act.

On October 1^st, 2018 lately Dr. Singh resigned as the Vice Chancellor of the Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur.

The protest of the students of HNLU has shown that what kind of situation the student community is facing in this era. We can easily find people like Dr. Sukhpal Singh in every sphere of our life acting as the unwanted hindrances. The kind of moral policing and the fascist approach that is being used in the academic institution is definitely unacceptable. However, this protest gathered support from social media and various NLUs like- NLSIU, NALSAR and NLUD issued solidarity statements with the HNLU Students Bar Association.

Legal Desire salutes the enthusiasm and valour of the students of HNLU and extends its best wishes for the revolution they have brought in the mindset of the law students.

Vive la revolution!

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