The Sixth Annual Convocation of National Law University, Delhi was held on 4 August 2018 in the Auditorium of the university. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra Chief Justice of India was the Chief Guest and he delivered the convocation address. Shri Arvind Kejriwal Hon’ble Chief Minister, Govt. of NCT of Delhi was the Special Guest of Honour, and Hon’ble Ms. Justice Gita Mittal, Acting Chief Justice, Delhi High Court and Chancellor of NLU Delhi conferred the degrees upon the successful students of BA.LL.B. (Hons.), LL.M., and Ph.D scholars. Apart from this, gold medals and cash prizes were awarded to students of B.A.LLB. (Hons), and LL.M. programmes. Notable awardees were Ms. Kanchan who was awarded seven Gold Medals and three cash prizes, Ms. Yashika Jain received 4 gold medals, and one cash prize. Ms. Kudrat Agarwal was awarded with four Gold Medals. In all medals were awarded to the LLB students. Two gold medals were awarded for LL.M.
In his Welcome Address, the Vice Chancellor of National Law University Delhi, Prof. (Dr.) Ranbir Singh welcomed all the dignitaries, graduating students and their parents and all other invitees. Since this is the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the University, Prof. Singh highlighted the landmark achievements of the University in the last decade. He stated that the highest goal of the university is to make its students worthy members of the society, imbued with the spirit of the constitution and with kindness and humility towards all. He stated that it was a matter of pride that NLU graduates have excelled in all fields, including in judicial and civil services examinations, and in securing prestigious scholarships for higher studies and in securing employment in top law firms across the globe. Many work as judicial clerks with the judges of High Courts and the Supreme Court, and several have also started their litigation practice.
The Vice Chancellor mentioned that in this short span of time since its establishment, the University has achieved an NAAC score of 3.59; has been conferred a Category I autonomy status by the UGC, and is ranked no. 2 in the NIRF Rankings. The University has created more than 300 lectures, available for free, online. The University also has 10 MOOC programmes, available for free online, which has already seen enrolment from more than 5000 students.
The Vice Chancellor stated that NLU, Delhi is known for its research, with 14 active research centres, and several research projects. The University is regularly consulted by the law commission of India, government ministries and the courts, amongst others. The University has a National Academy of Law Teachers for training of law teachers, which has trained more than 600 teachers. ‘But’, he said, ‘for NLU, Delhi the best is yet to come. Being the number one law school in India is too small an aim for NLU, Delhi,’ he said. ‘We hope to compete with the best of law schools across the globe.’ He also made a special mention of the Registrar, Prof. G.S. Bajpai’s contributions in the successful implementation of the e-pathshala project.
Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra, Chief Justice of India and Visitor of National Law University Delhi, was the Chief Guest and delivered the convocation address. He congratulated the University for completing a decade of existence under the able leadership of Prof. Ranbir Singh. He said that Prof. Singh was being too humble in calling NLU, Delhi as the second best law school in the country.
Justice Misra congratulated the graduating students and the medal holders. He stated that the country has great expectations from the graduating students of India’s premiere law school. He urged the new graduates to familiarize themselves with social realities that will make them effective lawyers, judges and administrators. They need to learn to bridge the gap between legality and reality, and to work for the advancement of the poor, downtrodden and impecunious. He advised the young graduates to, ‘never be afraid of uncertain future that lies ahead because this uncertainty is intellectually exciting.’
The Convocation also saw the release of three NLU, Delhi journals: The Journal of National Law University, Delhi and the Journal of Victimology and Victim Justice, both published by SAGE, and NLUD Student Law Journal.
