Inaugural Ceremony of Pro Bono Club

The Pro-Bono Club, under the aegis of Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, was inaugurated in the Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies (VIPS-TC) on 23 rd September, 2022. Mr. Ravinder Singh, Joint Registrar of the Delhi High Court was invited as the Guest of Honour. He is from the first batch of Vivekananda School of Law and Legal Studies (VSLLS) VIPS-TC. Ms. Sneha Sharma, Program Manager at the Department of Justice and Ms. Mahima Khera, Program Associate at the Department of Justice and an alumni of VIPS were invited as the guest speakers to address the students about the nuances of the Pro-Bono Club. Prof. (Dr.) Rashmi Salpekar, Dean, VSLLS gave the welcome address and made an official announcement about the commencement of the Pro-Bono Club.

Mr. Ravinder Singh then addressed the students about the importance of fulfilling their responsibility of providing legal aid and fighting for justice as the stakeholders of the legal fraternity. Sir described the Pro-Bono Club as a step in the right direction with respect to protecting the rights of the marginalized community. He advocated for the use of the motto “Sabka Nyaya” and for removing all barriers to deliver justice. Towards the end of his speech, he motivated the students to play the role of a ‘Social Engineer’ and give life to the words of Mahatma Gandhi who advocated to work for upliftment of the poor.
Ms. Sneha Sharma oriented students about aims and objectives of “pro-bono club”. Emphasis was laid on various programmes implemented by the Access to Justice division such as the implementation of Tele-Law, Nyaya Bandhu, Nyaya Mitra and Pan India Literacy and Awareness as a part of the DISHA scheme. The key initiatives of this scheme were to provide “Citizen-Centric Service Delivery” and “legal empowerment of citizens.” The efforts to initiate the Pro Bono Club at VSLLS would not have borne fruits without the concentrated efforts made by Ms. Mahima Khera. She elaborated and oriented on skilling budding lawyers in Pro Bono work through Pro Bono litigation assistance and by promoting alternative dispute resolution. Prof. T.V. Subba Rao, Professor Emeritus, VSLLS, VIPS-TC, applauded the initiatives undertaken by the Ministry in promoting justice of all types of dimensions. He emphasized that legal aid is important to attain equal access to justice by all sections of the society through awareness, accessibility, acceptance, and quality assurance.