The GNLU Annual Legal Services Forum (GALSF) is the annual flagship event of the GNLU Legal Services Committee. The premise of the Annual Legal Forum is to connect and establish a foundation and a consortium of all Legal Aid and Services Committees across the nation, address pertinent socio-legal issues and to facilitate discussion and cooperation among the various LSCs/LACs.
The first such Legal Services forum at GNLU was conducted in 2015. After 3 successful years, the forum is back with its fourth edition!
The 4th GNLU Annual Legal Services Forum seeks to address multipronged factors affecting the access to legal aid for the marginalized communities of Indian society through a comprehensive discussion of the activities undertaken by various law schools and their legal aid committees, their best practices, round-table discussions amongst the best minds in the nation and lectures by esteemed dignitaries focusing on the revolutionizing of legal aid access. The 4th edition of the GALSF will focus on the broad theme of “Revolutionizing Legal Aid”. The rationale underlying the selection of this theme is the urgent need of revolutionary, innovative and accessible legal aid in contemporary times.
Day 1 | 14th April, 2023
10:15 AM: Inaugural Ceremony – The halls of Gujarat National Law University are abuzz with excitement and anticipation for what the forum holds. The inaugural ceremony is about to begin, with the Chief Guest, Hon’ble Justice Mr. Vipul Pancholi of the High Court of Gujarat and Prof. (Dr.) S. Shanthakumar, Director, GNLU taking their seats on stage. The ceremony is also graced by the Guest of Honour, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising and Special Guest, Ms. Sneha Sharma, who have joined us virtually. Dr. Jagadeesh Chandra T.G., Registrar, GNLU and Prof (Dr.) Hardik H. Parikh, Faculty Convenor, GNLU LSC have also joined the Chief Guest and the Director on the stage.
10:40 AM: The opening remarks were delivered by Dr. Hardik H. Parikh, Faculty Convenor, GNLU LSC, wherein he thanked and welcomed all the participating teams to the Forum. Prof. (Dr.) S. Shanthakumar, Director, GNLU in his address thereafter lauded the GNLU Legal Services Committee for the various initiatives it undertakes tirelessly. He stressed on the importance this forum holds as ideas and innovative solutions from Legal Service Committees of universities from across the nation will synergise the efforts towards legal aid.
11:00 AM: Ms. Sneha Sharma, Project Manager for Access to Justice (Nyay Bandhu/Tele Law Project) at Department of Justice, New Delhi addressed the gathering. Senior Advocate Ms. Indira Jaising, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi, also graced the Forum by her virtual presence. She enlightened us on the larger need of doing legal service and providing legal aid which is in line with the principles enshrined in the Constitution as well.
11:30 AM: The Chief Guest for the ceremony Hon’ble Justice Mr. Vipul Pancholi, Gujarat High Court, thanked GNLU LSC for organizing the event on such an important legal subject. He stressed on the need for taking legal aid to every corner of the nation, providing legal training to students, and increase the use of technology in this field which would help enhance the quality and increase the reach of legal aid.
The ceremony came to a close with a vote of thanks delivered by the Registrar of GNLU.
12:00 PM: A group photo to capture this momentous occasion and commemorate the hard work and dedication of everyone involved was taken. On the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, a floral tribute to the legendary philosopher and social reformer, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was paid.
12:30 PM: Plenary Session I – The first discussion of the session is engaged by Ms. Firdos Khan, member of the Delhi Commission for Women, on the “Role of Grassroot Level Organizations and Facilities in Revolutionising Legal Aid“. She highlights the helplessness that individuals especially the underprivileged may face when accessing justice. To eliminate this, two factors are of prime importance: awareness of legal aid and quality of legal aid. For this purpose, she says, grassroot level organizations may play a role in enhancing awareness and quality of legal aid. She supports her case by providing real-life examples and statistics.
1:00 PM: Ms. Khan continued to stress on the interdependence between law and society and how both need to be looked at together if we are to reach to effective solutions to the problems. She concluded by touching briefly upon the initiatives of the Delhi Commission for Women. The session was followed by a QnA session which saw active participation from the attendees.
1:30 PM: Ms. Ankita Sarkar, Legal Strategy Co-ordinator, Project 39-A was the next speaker for the session. She discussed the grassroot functionaries involved in legal service, ranging from para legal volunteers, civil society organisations, jail visiting lawyers to law universities and law students. She further elaborated on how different modes of intervention during incarceration and post the release of convicts are effective.
2:00 PM: Ms. Sarkar explained the need for comprehensive methods to identify those communities that are prone to criminalisation or victimisation and to empower and educate, if not all, a part of them as part of mobilising efforts towards providing them with legal aid. After discussing the need for involving all the stakeholders in the process, she gave a glimpse of her own experience of working with undertrial prisoners. The session saw questions pouring in from the attendees throughout.
2:30 PM: Participants and guests have taken a break for lunch, re-energizing themselves with delicious food.
3:00 PM: Annual Report and Proposal Presentation – Each participating team will present the annual reports of respective Legal Service Committees and Legal Aid Clinics. Each team will be given 15 minutes to present and will have 5 minutes to answer judges’ questions. The presentations will be judged by Dr. Kalpeshkumar Gupta, Ms. Tanvi Singh and Dr. BS Patil. The session began with Institute of Law, Nirma University presenting their annual report. Nirma’s LSC has their uniqueness embeded in their residential camps conducted at villages, where they accustom the urban crowd to the on ground reality in villages and in the process gain the trust of the villagers and thus combat various legal problems faced by them through this.
3:30 PM: The first round of presentations is underway and the judges are closely evaluating each team’s performance through thought-provoking questions.
4:00 PM: The team from Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL) familiarizes the judges with the projects they undertake under the RGNUL Legal Aid Clinic. They introduced several initiatives like project sarbat and project kaksha, among others. They propose ground level projects in and around Patiala which can be implemented practically and bring about positive change.
4:30 PM: The innovative ideas and presentations continue as ILS Pune narrates all the activities they undertook under Legal Aid clinic. Their presentation could be summed up in a simple phrase – “Coming together for creating a better future”.
5:00 PM: The team from Bennett University, Greater Noida, came up with its report and some interesting proposals on focusing more on consumer protection rights and prevention of cybercrimes, on which they were provided with suggestions by the judges.
5:30 PM: As MNLU Mumbai presents its report, the ongoing stream of compelling presentations and inventive ideas continue to pour in, with the judges actively enquiring into both the past events and the future plans of the Legal Aid Clinics.
6:00 PM: With their focus on providing mediation and counselling services to victims of domestic violence in the far located villages of Gujarat, Anand Law College brought forward some thought provoking ideas and suggestions to showcase to the judges.
6:30 PM: The participants take a break to enjoy tea and refreshments!
7:00 PM: The participants have reconvened for the final presentations of the day.
7:30 PM: With this, the day has come to a close. Everyone will enjoy a Gala dinner, reflecting on the valuable insights and experiences they gained throughout the day.
Day 2 | 15th April, 2023
9:30 AM: Annual Report and Proposal Presentation – The morning of Day 2 of the Forum is filled with excitement as the participating teams gear up for their presentations.
10:00 AM: The Legal Services Committee team from Karnavati University has taken the stage. They highlight how they are focusing on engaging with village panchayats to increase legal awareness.
10:30 AM: Next up, the team from NMIMS, Navi Mumbai came up with its ideas on interventions and awareness in the LGBTQ+ community. The judges provided them with suggestions and stressed on the need to sensitise themselves with the issues and problems before engaging with the community.
11:00 AM: School of Law, Christ University comes up with creative solutions to increase legal awareness by providing legal toolkits to pre-university students. They also propose to use radio as a medium to host a show for improving knowledge of law and facilities.
11:30 AM: NLU Jodhpur has a captivating presentation to make and some futuristic ideas to present on prison reforms, RTE initiatives in schools, providing assistance to local artisans, among many others.
12:00 PM: Bhartiya Vidyapeeth University elaborates on their work on a Matrimonial Legal Aid clinic to ease the divorce process. They also propose to increase awareness of traffic laws and rules to ensure fair means of issuing driving licenses.
12:30 PM: The presentations come to an end, with the Marwadi University, Rajkot highlighting their work on gender equality, drug use prevention, anti-ragging, among others, and the judges providing them with suggestions for overcoming the challenges.
1:00 PM: Faculty Round Table Conference – After enjoying High-tea, faculties from all participating universities engage in an informative round table discussion, sharing their personal experiences and providing valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of legal aid. The topic of discussion is the “Use of Technology in Revolutionizing Legal Aid”.
1:30 PM: The Discussion encompassed several topics ranging from the challenges faces by Legal Services Committes throughout the country, the correct nomenclature of the LSC’s, dearth of financial resources, lack of significance given to LSC’s, importance of integration of Legal services in legal education. The panelists particularly emphasised on making Legal Services a mandatory part of legal education and not keeping it as merely a co-curricular or extra curricular activity. Commenting upon the financial resources, various faculty members brought it to the attention of the room that there is stark discrimination with respect to funds allocation to committees such as Moot Court Committees and LSC. The highlight of the round table discussion was, everyone agreed that there is a need to organize LSC’s and a body should be created to increase efficiency of the same. The faculty breaks for lunch after that intensive discussion.
2:00 PM: Plenary Session II is set to begin shortly.
2:30 PM: Plenary Session II begins with Ms. Yashaswini Basu, Lawyer, Outreach Lead, Nyaya Foundation, enlightening the room on the “Role of Women in Promotion of Legal Aid“.
3:00 PM: Ms. Basu, while interacting heavily with the attendees, helps them get an image of the challenges faced by Legal Service Committees nationwide. She explains the gaps in the law of the land and the access to it.
3:30 PM: Ms. Basu further stresses on the need to focus on representation so that a trust factor is established and women feel comfortable in sharing their problems with the providers of legal aid.
Prof. Anup Surendranath, Professor of Law & Executive Director, Project 39A National Law University, Delhi begins with the “Role of Youth in Developing Quality Legal Aid“.
4:00 PM: In the larger structural context of the legal system and how legal aid clinics operate, Prof. Surendranath discussed the practical challenges involved in legal aid service. He further emphasised on the need for knowing even the minute details of an area of law before getting into its design, implementation and intervention in the form of legal aid.
4:30 PM: Plenary Session III – Advocate Audrey D’mello, Director at MAJLIS, paints a vivid picture of the realities of women/children – particularly victims of rape and domestic violence – seeking justice. The flaws in the social and legal system are highlighted in her talk on “Stigma & Taboo Associated With the Law : An Obstruction to Legal Aid for the Underprivileged“.
5:00 PM: The session ended with an intense discussion on ‘consent’. Participants excitedly move to the Orientation hall for the Valedictory Ceremony! After 2 long days of discussions, presentations and pitches, the winners of the forum will be announced. The winning team will be awarded a grant of Rs. 25,000 for their planned legal-aid projects and the runners-up will be awarded Rs. 15,000.
5:30 PM: Valedictory Ceremony – The halls of GNLU are graced by the presence of eminent dignitaries as the valedictory ceremony begins with the Chief Guest Hon’ble Mr. Justice Bhargav D. Karia, Hon’ble Judge, High Court of Gujarat, Senior Advocate Prashant Desai, Gujarat High Court, Dr. S. Shanthakumar, Director, GNLU, Dr. Jagadeesh Chandra T.G., Registrar, GNLU and Dr. Hardik H. Parikh, Faculty Convenor, GNLU LSC, on the dais.
Dr. Parikh makes the opening remarks, followed by a welcome address by Director sir.
6:00 PM: Senior Advocate Prashant Desai addresses the gathering and narrates some personal incidents that made him realize the importance of Legal Aid. Hon’ble Justice Karia also narrated experiences and shared insights with the attendees.
Winners – National Law University, Jodhpur
Runners-up – School of Law, Christ (Deemed to be University)
6:30 PM: The student convenors of GNLU LSC, Himangini Mishra and Dhruv Chhajed, expressed their gratitude to everyone involved in making this forum a grand success. The organizing committee has done an outstanding job in planning and executing the event, ensuring that everything ran smoothly and efficiently, and creating an enjoyable and memorable experience for all the participants and guests.
The Registrar proposed his vote of thanks. The event has officially come to a close, and attendees leave with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, learning new ideas to further legal aid, meeting like-minded people and gaining more knowledge through various insightful sessions.