Hon’ble Justice A K Tripathi, Chief Justice, High Court of Chhattisgarh and Chancellor, Hidayatullah National Law University, paid an honorary visit to Hidayatullah National Law University on the 7th of October, 2018.
He addressed the students, teachers, and staff of the University and delivered an emotional speech in the aftermath of the protests against Sukh Pal Singh, an apathetic administration, inaction on allegations of sexual harassment and financial irregularities. The Chancellor knowing that these allegations have been long buried by the students and the administration alike, because of the indifference of those in power, assured the students that prompt action would be taken henceforth and that he would not be a silent bystander in the events of our University.
He urged the students to bring accolades and re-establish the high standards of legal education at HNLU. Promising the students good faculty and a considerate administration, he highlighted the fact that in a quest for success, both the students and the authorities will have to work hand in hand.
The Student Bar Association appealed to the students of HNLU to aim for success in all academic fields because, now, the University is theirs and all its resources are at their full disposal.
While addressing the gathering, he said that he had come to bury the past. The Chancellor said that he couldn’t sleep or eat properly after he came to know that his beloved students were going to begin a hunger strike. He told everyone that he wanted to work for the best interests of the University and the students and he shall do so in future also.
Relevant excerpts from his speech:
“I saw so many smiling faces. Keep it that way. I’m getting a little emotional. I don’t want my children to suffer. The day I came to know that my children are going on a fast, I could neither sleep nor eat properly. That was the day I decided that curtains have to be drawn on the era which is the reason for all the friction and bad blood which was created in the university.
Friends, Romans and Countrymen, I have not come to bury Caesar. Caesar has already been buried on the 3rd. I have come to bury the past. Let’s draw the curtains on the bygone era. We have to now start building it afresh. It is my request to all the revolutionaries amongst the students, employees, faculty; that they must return to the barracks. The revolution is over. The czar is toppled. The time to build the nation has begun. For that, we need a contribution from every quarter. We have come here to create an atmosphere of the information where the primary focus of acquiring knowledge and skills which is going to stand by you.”