The Confederation of Alumni for National Law Universities (CAN Foundation), has partnered with National Law University, Jodhpur & Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar to host the ‘1st Justice HR Khanna Memorial National Symposium’ on 14 th August, 2021. The Symposium is being organised in the remembrance of the august persona of Late Justice HR Khanna and will involve lively discussions on issues ranging from ‘Nurturing Constitutional Values’ to ‘Strengthening Virtual Courts’. It will feature renowned legal luminaries in the Esteemed Panel of Speakers and will be conducted in a virtual mode and will be split into two different sessions.
Pre-Lunch Session
The Pre-Lunch Session will be graced by the Chief Guest, Justice UU Lalit (Judge, Supreme Court) who will initiate the discussion by delivering the Keynote Address on the theme – ‘Reflections on J. HR Khanna – Nurturing India’s Constitutional Fabric’. Following the same, the Esteemed Panelist, Mr. PS Narasimha (Senior Advocate) will enlighten the audience on topics veering around the theme for this session.
The Pre-Lunch Session shall pay homage to Late J. HR Khanna and shall feature a commemoration of the legacy of Late J. HR Khanna and his celebrated dissent in ADM, Jabalpur v. Shivakant Shukla, (1976) 2 SCC 521.
‘Dissent is the cornerstone of our democracy and it must always be respected’. In this context, the Esteemed Panelists shall be speaking upon the important values that J. Khanna embodied and his contribution in according the Constitution its true identity through his landmark tie-breaking Judgement in the matter of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, (1973) 4 SCC 225. The Speakers shall also be delving into the necessity of incorporating these values into our lives given their utmost importance in contemporary times.
Post-Lunch Session
In the Post-Lunch Session, the Presiding Guest, Justice V Ramasubramanian (Judge, Supreme Court) will deliver the Keynote Address on the theme – ‘Strengthening Doorstep Justice – Augmenting Access to Virtual Courts’. It shall be
followed by the Guest of Honour, Justice S Muralidhar (Chief Justice, Orissa High Court) and the Esteemed Panelists for this session, Mr. Shyam Divan (Senior Advocate, Supreme Court) and Mr. Neeraj K Kaul (Senior Advocate, Supreme Court) addressing the audience on topics revolving around the aforementioned theme.
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a copious amount of catastrophes impacting our justice delivery system to a great extent. As fate would have it, the entire Judicial System had to shift to virtual mode. It cannot be gainsaid that the best thing that came out of Covid-19 pandemic is ‘virtual hearing’. This paradigm shift in the Indian judicial system invites discussion and deliberation on enabling access to virtual courts.
Though Virtual Courts are citizen-friendly and extremely affordable, in reality, the response of Indian Judicial System, especially at the High Courts & Subordinate Courts level, has been visibly tepid. Many High Courts of the country are still grappling with issues of having convenient, systemic and organised Virtual Court infrastructure. As a result of this, despite lofty discussion on the necessity and importance of Virtual Courts, the implementing agencies at the grassroot level are still dragging their feet in making them a permanent and perpetual feature. Issues of will power of decision makers, connectivity and streamlines continue to haunt in making Virtual Courts an effective substitute or supplement to the Physical Court system. The session shall be delving into many such contentious and grey areas of discussion. The Esteemed Panelists will be enlightening the audience on the same.
A detailed Minute-To-Minute Run Sheet of the Symposium is also available. Further information pertaining to the Symposium is available on the official website of the Foundation: HERE .
An E-Brochure for the Symposium has also been released which highlights the comprehensive details of the Symposium and its Panelists. This E-Brochure has been designed as per international standards of aesthetic creation and animation and contains embedded live links for easy access to details of all the individuals and institutions mentioned in the E-Brochure. It may be accessed HERE
Registration for the Symposium may be done by filling the form available Here