Decks stands cleared for setting up of National Law University in Jammu and Kashmir , the need for which was felt immediately after the recommendations vide a unanimous resolution passed in a conference attended by the All India Law Ministers which was convened in the year 1995. The resolution, inter-alia stressed upon the need to open in each state a Law University with intent to give impetus to promotion of quality legal education. Governor Satya Pal Malik recently gave his assent to the concerned Bill paving the way for establishment of a National Law University in Jammu and Kashmir which is a welcome step, though agreeably it should have been done earlier. It may be recalled that the State Legislature had passed a Bill in February last year to this effect. Looking to the ever increasing graph of the litigations and more and more people exercising the trust in the ultimate recourse to knock at the doors of judiciary for protecting constitutional rights, the scope and the role of quality legal education stands widened gradually each year.
We need more legal practitioners, law teachers, members of judiciary and new thoughts, techniques and legal literature including research work which can be possible through the establishment and aegis of a full fledged Law University alone. With this step , the feeling that Jammu and Kashmir was at par with other states in having a separate university to deal exclusively with the legal discipline would be strengthened. If we say that the ultimate culmination of the purpose of the Law University is hovering around and strengthening the institution of courts to dispense justice and providing protection to citizens against arbitrary Government action and the like, it would be no exaggeration. The other face of the reality is that the rate of crime too was steadily increasing in new fields like cyber crimes, terror related crimes etc besides in ‘conventional ‘ areas for which the legal fraternity had a larger role to play towards not only helping in conviction rates going up but how deterrents were brought about to ensure law was obeyed. Quality legal knowledge and expertise was very much needed and the Law University would prove immensely helpful.
The other generalised view that students now-a-days , after their schooling, usually aspired for and preferred technical and other professional courses and building careers accordingly , does not hold good as the ground realities reveal that large number of students had passion to know , read and professionalise in law and legal matters. Most of the aspiring students from Jammu and Kashmir , therefore, were compelled to seek admission in universities in other states which besides disturbing their family life, entailed monetary considerations which by establishing of the Law University in Jammu and Kashmir would duly be taken care of.
What is needed, now is to take such necessary steps in the right earnest, post enactment of the law, in respect of establishing of the University, which would expeditiously result in erecting of the requisite infrastructure including the faculty so that it started functioning as early as possible. It should not remain hostage to intricacies of officialdom and subservient to protracted formalities causing delays and deferments and instead, in the words of the Governor really prove to “disseminating knowledge about law and legal processes and promote legal awareness across different sections of the society to achieve political, social and economic, justice.”
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