Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 11: Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Justice N Kotiswar Singh today inaugurated a mega project on ‘Establishment, Revival and Operation of Legal Aid Clinics in Kashmir’ at the University of Kashmir (KU).
Justice Tashi Rabstan, Judge, High Court of J&K and Ladakh, and Vice-Chancellor Prof Nilofer Khan were the guests of honour at the event, organized by the varsity’s School of Law. Dr Vijaylakshmi Brara was the special guest at the inaugural session.
In his presidential address, Justice N Kotiswar Singh invoked the Preamble of the Constitution which calls for securing justice for all citizens to highlight the importance of providing free legal aid to vast sections of people “who are still unaware of their legal rights and privileges”. “This is a big challenge,” the Chief Justice said.
Praising the KU for the ambitious project, the Chief Justice, who was the chief guest on the occasion, highlighted the important role that law students can play in making legal aid clinics more vibrant and effective by going to grassroots for legal awareness among the people to increase their access to justice. He also said that justice-delivery is not the exclusive prerogative of the judges or lawyers alone but “everyone in the society can contribute to justice delivery in a small way.”
In his special address, Justice Tashi Rabstan underscored the importance of legal aid clinics in enhancing the people’s access to justice. “Legal aid clinics are one of the important ways to fulfill our Constitutional pledge of ensuring access to justice for one and all,” he said.
In his inaugural address, Prof Nilofer Khan said, “We need to see how best we can utilize our young students, para-legals, scholars and pro-bono lawyers to go to the remotest parts of the Valley under this important project to raise legal awareness among people.
Head and Dean, School of Law, Prof Beauty Banday delivered the welcome address while Dr Mohammad Yasin, Director of the Project, highlighted its objectives and conducted proceedings of the inaugural session. The vote of thanks was delivered by Dr Shehnaz, faculty, School of Law.
Earlier, a ceremonial guard of honour was presented to the Chief Justice by a contingent of the University Police.
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