Team Blitz India
INAUGURATING Dr. Rajendra Prasad National Law University at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh last week, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud urged it to employ Hindi as the medium of instruction in the college. The CJI said the premium attached to fluency in English acts as a barrier for students coming from diverse backgrounds.
“I appeal to Dr. Rajendra Prasad National Law University to ensure that the medium of instruction takes place in Hindi so that the best students from Uttar Pradesh become the best lawyers who will practice before the High Court. Many of them will join the district judiciary and some of them will join colleges,” he said.
The inauguration function was also attended by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra. The CJI, in his address, said despite advancements, contemporary legal education system favours only “certain English-speaking urban students”.
Diversity surveys
“The data from diversity surveys of five National Law Universities, which came into existence much before, reveals that the composition of law schools in terms of region, gender, and the premium attached to the fluency in English and a stigma due to lack of knowledge of English amongst students acts as a hindrance to the full participation and assimilation of students coming from diverse backgrounds,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said.
He also opined that internships and moot courts traditionally cater to students from privileged and English-speaking backgrounds. College campus should foster a dynamic environment where diverse beliefs and opinions can interact, he stressed.
The CJI further said that education at the new NLU should reach students beyond Prayagraj to smaller towns in Uttar Pradesh and other states. In this context, he commented that technology enables us to extend education beyond physical boundaries.
Referring to the Ram Manohar Lohia NLU at Lucknow, the CJI said both the law universities in Uttar Pradesh should strive to improve the standards of legal education to meet the current demands in the field.
DY Chandrachud Chief Justice of India
Lawyers’ pivotal role
“Today, when we are gathered for the inauguration of a new NLU, we have to think as to where we are taking our legal education. Now, UP has two NLUs. Several NLU Lucknow students worked with me, and many of them [are] working with the district judiciary… A student of law also needs to be knowledgeable about political theory, economics, philosophy, and the history and culture of the nation to be able to institute cultural changes,” he underscored.
Specialised subjects like space law and technology law should not be exclusive to NLUs, the CJI stressed. He also commented on the pivotal role of lawyers in society and applauded those who work pro bono to assist the people in dire need of legal representation.
“Every day in the work of Supreme Court we come face to face not only with injustice but the quest of justice which is sustained by lawyers, pursuing causes which are popular and unpopular. Clients high and low. Clients who have a voice in the system, thanks to the work of the Bar,” the CJI said.
