By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: The Chief Justice of India, Justice K.G. Balkrishnan has said that law students may be sent to the Bar as student-lawyers and he has no objection to this practice.
Justice Balkrishnan stressed the need for law students, advocates and all those associated with law profession to be more sensitised on social issues to achieve the goal of quick and quality justice to all in the country.
Justice Balkrishnan was addressing the first Convocation of the National Law Institute University (NLIU) here in Bhopal today. He conferred the degrees and medals on the pass outs of the university. Supreme Court Justice P.P. Nalekar; the Chief Justice of the M.P. High Court A.K. Patnaik; former Union Minister Ravishankar Prasad; the Director of the University Prof. Balram Chouhan; senior judges, advocates, students and members of State Bar Council were present on the occasion.
Justice Balkrishnan said that there is lack of legal knowledge among people of India and they know very little about exercising their legal rights. It is, therefore, the duty of the lawyers and all those associated with legal system to endeavour to ensure quick and quality justice to the people. In the modern times, the legal education and profession is diversifying and new challenges are emerging in this field. In this age of rapid economic development and globalisation, the law students should be well acquainted with the laws and legal systems of other countries also.
He stressed the need for application of new technologies by the lawyers and other concerned to improve functioning. He also emphasised the need for high quality research works in the field of legal education and hoped that the university would utilise the UGC funds in the best for this purpose.
Justice Balkrishnan said that the judiciary, the lawyers and academicians should work in unison to ensure equitable distribution of benefits of development in society. He also called for special attention to protection of consumer and human rights. He said that a good lawyer plays an important role in bringing about positive social changes. He said that the lawyers should work with commitment to remove social disparities and discrepancies. It should be ensure that all sections of people get education and justice.
The Chief Justice of India said that the evil of corruption is growing at every level. The university and other educational institutions should inculcate moral values in students so that they can uphold their professional ethics and practice their profession with integrity. The law students should endeavour to deepen and strengthen the faith of people in law. He hoped that the products of this university would bring laurels to their institution and play a pioneering role in bringing about positive changes in society and country. For this, workshops, seminars, video conferencing etc. may be of good help. He said that the new law graduates can play a significant role in social engineering.
Earlier, the Chief Justice of the M.P. High Court A.K. Patniak declared the convocation open. The Director of the University, Prof. Balram Chouhan delivered the welcome address and threw light on the activities, functioning and achievements of the university and its students. He informed that the Madhya Pradesh Government has sanctioned Rs. five crore this year for construction of an auditorium and other facilities in the university. He thanked the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Chief Secretary R. C. Sahni for this.
The Chief Justice of India conferred the degrees on students of batches from 2002 to 2007 . He also presented Pt. Ramlal Sharma memorial Medal to meritorious students. The recipients included Kanchan, Karan Oudh, Garima Nahar, Apurva Kurup, Amritodas, Chinmay Prasad, Ritambhara Baheti and Kshiti Garg.
Justice Balkrishsnan also conferred a Ph.D. on the former Chief Justice of the M.P. High Court Justice G.P. Singh on behalf of the university. His son Ajit Singh received the degree.
He referred to the outstanding contributions of G.P. Singh in legal field and congratulated him on receiving this prestigious degree. ([email protected])