Commemoration of 70th Year of ATCI

Vivekananda School of Law and Legal Studies (VSLLS) celebrated the 70th year of adoption of Constitution on 26th November 2019 under the guidance of Prof. (Dr.) R Venkata Rao, Chairperson VSLLS, VIPS.

The event began with delivery of the welcome address by Prof. (Dr.) Rashmi Salpekar, Dean VSLLS. Thereafter the recitation of the Preamble to the Constitution of India by all faculty members of VSLLS. Prof. Rao emphasized on the significance of the day and stressed on its importance for duties as citizens of India. All members present pledged to abide by constitutional values and imbibing the same in the students.

In commemoration of the 70th year of adoption of the Constitution of India, a Webinar on “Reforms required to strengthen the Indian Judiciary” was organized on 8th May 2020 by VSLLS. The guest speaker for the event was Smt. Anjana Prakash, Senior Advocate. It was attended by faculty members including Prof. T.V. Subba Rao, Emeritus Professor, and VSLLS students. There were also participants in the capacity of VSLLS alumni, lawyers, and even interested non-legal persons. The session was of interest to all and was interactive wherein students and faculty members asked their questions which were promptly answered by the speaker. The session highlighted that delivery of Justice is wavering and not constant in the sense that there is a gap between the law and the relief granted. That is to say, when different interpretations of the same provisions of law lead to different decisions, justice becomes uncertain. The speaker stressed the requirement of consistency and speediness in the justice delivery mechanism and in making the judicial institution more democratic. To this end, she emphasized the value of ethics which although is an innate trait of a judge, can be trained and nurtured through training before the induction of a candidate into judicial services. The session, through a number of queries, covered a variety of issues including gender equality in judicial services, recusal of judges, the system of the collegium, accepting of the seat in Legislature by a Judge upon retirement, the balance of power and prerogative of Judiciary, personalization of the Institution by the Chief Justice of India, importance of citing precedents in the judgments to ensure consistency, fast-tracking of cases and dealing with pendency to expedite justice delivery mechanism. Thus, this enriching session was concluded leaving with the participants enough food for thought.

The 13th edition of Intra Moot Court was organized on 24th January 2020. The main objective of the competition was to train the participants on the importance of mooting and researching the given area. The problem was drafted on Constitutional law touching upon certain aspects of International Human Rights Law and Refugee Law. The training session was organized on 10th and 17th January. The first training session mainly focused on the preparation of memorial through online portals, like SCC, AIR, etc. They were taught to read the journal and identify the relevant case laws through the case index. In the second training session, they were taught about the basic etiquettes to be followed in the courtroom and the manner of presentation of their arguments. The competition was judged by Judges of Bihar Judicial Services and the practicing advocates of Delhi High Court & District Court.

The Vivekananda School of Law and Legal Studies, VIPS, in association with Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, Delhi University organized its first-ever National Virtual Debate Competition on the 14th of June, 2020 on the topic, “This house believes that while fighting COVID-19, the State has been just with both, lives and livelihood”. More than 70 teams from various national and state colleges participated in this competition on a digital platform. The inaugural address was given by Prof. (Dr.) R. Venkata Rao, Chairperson, VSLLS, VIPS, and former Vice-Chancellor of the NLSIU, Bangalore. The students were further motivated by Prof. T.V. Subba Rao, Professor Emeritus, VSLLS, VIPS. After the enlightening and a motivational speech by Prof. (Dr.) Rao, the Principal of the ARSD College, Dr. Gyantosh Kumar Jha, congratulated the Organizing Committee members for indulging into e-debate by means of a collaboration.

The jury members were, Ms. Avani Bhatnagar, Assistant Professor at Vivekananda School of English Studies & Ms. Nidhi Sharma, Assistant Professor in the Department of English at ARSD College, Delhi University. The participants delivered their arguments precisely and they spoke on myriad issues like the response of the Central and the State governments on the issue of safety of doctors, the Shramik Express, As the competition intensified, the interjectors used their analytical and critical powers to question the viewpoints of all the participants, which were being meticulously countered by all the participants. As the final slot began, the discussions went on to be deeper & the participants elucidated their points thoroughly. The debate was concluded with a vote of thanks by the convenors of both the colleges, namely Dr. Deepa Kaushik, VIPS & Dr. Shubha Dwivedi, ARSD College & the winners were announced. The event concluded with a note of appreciation for the Students’ Organizing Team of both VIPS & ARSD College. The organizers, as well as the participants, had an enriching experience.

The Cultural Committee of Vivekananda School of Law and Legal Studies, organized an Intra Poster Making Competition on 12 February 2020. The theme of the event was the ‘Constitution of India’ to celebrate the 70 years of our Constitution. Several students participated in the competition. The participants, through their posters, focus on the legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, emphasized on the Fundamental Rights and Duties in the Constitution of India, and the golden words of Constitution: Liberty, Equality, and Freedom.

The winners were felicitated by Prof. Dr. Rashmi Salpekar, Dean VSLLS, Prof. Dr. Charulata Singh, Dean VSJMC, and Mr. Sant Kumar (VSBS). The Competition was successful in spreading awareness about the Constitution of India and was instrumental in invoking creativity among the students of Vivekananda School of Law and Legal Studies