After the immense success of its first edition, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow & National Law University, Odisha partnering with the Confederation of Alumni for National Law Universities (CAN Foundation), will be hosting the 2nd Justice HR Khanna Memorial National Symposium on 3rd July, 2022. The Symposium is being organized in the remembrance of the august persona of Late Shri Justice HR Khanna, and the date is not without significance too, as it also marks the 110th birth anniversary of the legal titan, who is known as one of the most distinguished judges in India’s legal history.
The first edition of the Symposium was held on 14th August, 2021 and legal luminaries were invited to speak as the esteemed panelists on compelling issues ranging from ‘Nurturing Constitutional Values’ to ‘Strengthening Virtual Courts’. This edition saw the august presence of Mr. Justice U U Lalit as the Chief Guest, Mr. Justice V. Ramasubramanian as the Presiding Guest, Mr. Justice P S Narasimha (Then Sr. Adv.) and Dr. Justice S. Muralidhar as the Guest of Honor. It also witnessed the presence of Mr. Neeraj Kishan Kaul and Mr. Shyam Divan as the esteemed panelists.
This year as well, featuring erudite dignitaries from the legal field, there will be two important and riveting issues up for deliberation, and the program will be divided into two different sessions respectively.
Pre-Lunch Session – Session-I
The pre-lunch session will be presided over by Justice Vikram Nath, Judge, Supreme Court of India, who will be initiating the debate and delivering the keynote address on the topic “Fundamental Duties vis-a-vis Fundamental Rights under Our Constitution”. Thereafter, Mr. NK Kaul and Mr. Sidharth Luthra, Senior Advocates, will be taking the deliberation forward.
Duties and rights are the building blocks of every civilization. However, in a world presently focussed on obtaining the sweet fruits of rights, we often neglect the significance of the roots of duties, which are the very foundation for rights to flourish. Without acknowledgement of duty, we can’t acknowledge rights and without acknowledging the concept of a breach of duty, we cannot talk about remedies to
safeguard our well being in society. It is therefore, a pertinent step to remind ourselves of the importance of duties, currently more than ever, when the claims of rights are increasingly being shown as a one stop solution to our problems. As the esteemed panelists will be deliberating on the topic, the session will definitely be a much needed engagement of minds addressing the challenges posed in the contemporary day.
Post-Lunch Session – Session II
In the Post-Lunch Session, the Presiding Guest, Justice J. B. Pardiwala (Judge, Supreme Court) will deliver the Keynote Address on the theme – “Vox Populi vs. Rule of Law: Supreme Court of India”. It shall be followed by the Esteemed Panelists for this session, Mr. Nidhesh Gupta and Mr. Siddharth Bhatnagar (Senior Advocates, Supreme Court of India) addressing the audience on topics revolving around the aforementioned theme.
The majority opinion plays an important role in a democratic society. However, it is not the supreme authentic source of defining fairness. A society’s growth is found in challenging its own beliefs too. The conflict between Vox Populi and the Rule of law is not novel. And whilst the conflict between the two has long been contested, both the concepts are closely intertwined with the working of democracy because the underlying concerns of both these concepts are law, justice, and morality. This session will delve into many contentious areas of this debate and the esteemed Panellists will be enlightening the audience on the same.
The Session shall be moderated by young emerging lawyers of the country, whose details are as follows:
- Mr. Siddharth R Gupta (Counsel, Supreme Court & MP High Court)
- Mr. Ankit Swarup (Advocate, Supreme Court)
- Mr. Sriram Parakkat (AOR, Supreme Court)
- Mr. Aditya Khandekar (Advocate, Supreme Cour)
- Mr. Tariq Khan, (Registrar, IAMC Hyderabad)
- Mr. Abhikalp P Singh (AOR, Supreme Court)
- Ms. Bhavana Chandak (Associate, Kachwaha & Partners)
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 through: HERE
Registration for the Symposium may be done by filling the form available HERE
