Adding a major milestone to legal education in Assam, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal jointly with Justice J. Chelameswar of the Supreme Court today formally inaugurated the permanent campus of National Law University & Judicial Academy (NLUJA) at Amingaon locality of Kamrup district. Stating that the NLUJA would usher a new era in the domain of legal education in the state, Sonowal vowed to make Guwahati the legal education hub of the region.
Relentless efforts of all stakeholders led to culmination of the NLUJA and I hope that this institution will cater to the need of quality legal education in Assam, said Sonowal,adding that the convergence of technology and the judicial system is the need of the hour. Lauding the role of judiciary in keeping the administrative machinery on right track through various significant pronouncements, he also commented that members of the judiciary must ensure emancipation of last man unto death, which would further entrench people’s faith in the democratic system and immensely help in establishing rule of law. Further stressing on the need to create an environment where citizens are more aware about the legal system and conscious of their rights, the chief minister urged the judicial fraternity to initiate positive steps in the regard.
He also advised the law students to be more abreast with new age crimes such as cyber crime, financial crime etc. and urged them to take the calling seriously and focus more on research in legal education. Sonowal thanked the chief justice of Gauhati High Court Justice Ajit Singh for designating the senior most additional district & sessions judge in the several districts of Assam as Fast Track Court for trial of offences under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Former chief justice of Gauhati High Court and present judge of the Supreme Court Justice Chelameswar, while speaking on the occasion highlighted the background that led to the setting up of NLUJA in Assam.
Indian democracy is in a nascent state and to make people understand the content of constitutional culture, young generation will have to play a significant role, Justice Chelameswar said.
Referring to the legal system as an important constituent of constitutional governance, Justice Chelameswar also advised law students to not be swayed away by precedent culture and to devote quality time on analysing problems. He also advised practising lawyers and judges to improve efficiency to reduce pendency of court cases.
Set up under National Law University & Judicial Academy Act, 2009, the NLUJA is the only national level law university in the region and its permanent campus spread on a sprawling 150 bighas of land houses the administrative bloc, academic bloc, hostel, library and staff quarters. In the second phase, construction of vice-chancellor’s bungalow, registrar bungalow, guest house, faculty residences, post graduate hostel etc would will be taken up.