By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR:Democracy has thrived and flourished in India because of its strong judiciary, Justice A.S. Naidu, former Judge of the Orissa High Court said.“Democracy has not quite taken root in India’s neighbouring nations while our strong and vibrant judiciary committed to the constitution has upheld democratic values in our country,” he said while addressing a virtual orientation program of the new batch of students admitted into the SOA National Institute of Law (SNIL), faculty of legal studies of the SOA Deemed to be University here.
Addressing the program, which was presided over by the SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Ashok Kumar Mahapatra, Justice Naidu recalled the unique heritage of India’s legal practitioners while naming Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr. Radha Binod Pal as two of the finest produced by the country.
Recalling Sardar Patel’s commitment to the profession, Justice Naidu said he was busy arguing the case of 35 Indian freedom fighters facing charges leveled against them by the British government when he received the news of his wife’s demise. When the court offered to adjourn the proceedings so that he could go home, Sardar Patel insisted that the arguments should continue saying his efforts to save the lives of 35 people was more important. All the 35 accused persons, who could have been sentenced to death, were subsequently acquitted, he said.
Pal was an Indian jurist who was one of the three judges appointed to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East which conducted the trial concerning the Japanese war crimes committed during World War II. He was the only judge who differed with others in the bench and submitted a judgement which insisted that the defendants were not guilty. Monuments have been set up in Japan dedicated to Dr. Pal, Justice Naidu said.
Congratulating the students who had decided to pursue legal studies in SOA, Justice Naidu said the university was one of the pioneer institutions with experienced faculty and excellent facilities. Students passing out from SOA were doing well in the bar and other places, he said.
Prof. Mahapatra said SOA was adjudged the 20th best university in India in the 2020 National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings and had figured in the 351-400 bracket of the QS Asia University Rankings published recently. Legal studies has been attracting brilliant students and it augured well for the society, he said.Prof. Jayadev Pati and Prof. Prabir Kumar Patnaik, both senior professors at SNIL, also spoke besides the Dean of the institute Prof. S.A.K.Azad.
Prof. Azad said the young generation was showing much interest in the legal profession and the university had set up a Placement Cell for the students graduating from SNIL to impart training to them to appear in different examinations.
