·      ORIENTATION PROGRAMME [15 January, 2021]

An orientation programme of newly admitted students of session 2020-21 of B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) Five Year Integrated Course in Law was organised on Friday, January 15th 2021 at Saroj Lalji Mehrotra Centre of Legal Studies observing the Covid19 regulations. The programme was moderated by Ms Niharika Nigam, second year student of the course. The students were welcomed and addressed by the Principal Prof. Lalima Singh who underlined the importance of law as a career. Hon’ble Justice Arun Tandon also addressed the students wherein he enriched the students with his personal experiences in the field of law. He motivated the students to work hard and endeavour to achieve success in life. Ms Mohini Shukla gave an overview of the curriculum and made the students familiar with the general rules and regulations of the college. Faculty members Dr. Riya Mukherjee, Dr. Sadaf Siddiqui, Dr. Preeti Yadav, Ms. Apoorva Singh, Ms. Subodhika Sharma were also present for the occasion. The programme ended with a vote of thanks.

·      VIDISHA: NATIONAL LAW DAY 2020 [26 November, 2020]

To revive the true spirit of the National law day also known as Constitutional day and to assimilate more understanding of it, students of Saroj Lalji Mehrotra Centre of Legal Studies organized the one day national event ‘Vidisha’ on 26 November 2020 having events like essay writing competition, photography competition, elocution, P.P.T competition and a webinar. Advocate Pragya Pandey of the Allahabad High Court was the guest speaker for the webinar. This event saw the participation from various institutions from various parts of the country such as Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University Visakhapatnam, Shiksha O Anusandhan University Odisha, University of Indore Madhya Pradesh, L.P.U Jaipur, Banasthali Vidyapith Rajasthan, Allahabad University U.P and several other colleges from Uttar Pradesh.

A brief overview of the events held in Vidisha:

i. Essay: Theme: “The Reality of Constitutional Promises”

Event heads: Humaira Farooqui, Apoorva Jaiswal;

Judges: Ms. Mohini Shukla, Dr. Jyoti Baijal, Dr. Vinita Mishra;

The essay event was very productive one. Students put forward their thoughts on “reality of constitutional promises”. This event was conducted in two parts wherein participants were required to send a soft copy of their essays beforehand and then the best five was presented before the judges of the oral rounds.

ii. Power point presentation: Theme: “Role of Youth in Promoting National

Integration”.

Event heads: Muskan Mandhyan, Shambhavi Pandey;

Judge: Mrs. Shilpi Srivastava

The PowerPoint presentation event was very creative and informative. Students

from various colleges became part of this event and put forward their thoughts on "national integration." The PPTs of participants focused on the role of youth in national integration and communal harmony. Though the event was conducted online, it was managed brilliantly due to excellent support from faculty members. The excitement and team spirit of students was great. This event was a huge success and added a different color to the canvas of Vidisha.

iii. Elocution: Theme: “The Seven Wonders Of India”.

Event heads: Mahi Srivastava, Darshita Srivastava;

Judges: Ms Deeksha Vats;

To enhance the verbal and written communicative skills of the participants this is a vital life skill and should not be overlooked. The guidelines of the same were made keeping in mind the aforementioned objectives. Traditional clothes were kept as the mandatory dress code to instill the feeling of nationalism and patriotism on the auspicious occasion of ‘National Law Day”.

Pre-recorded videos were mandated in order to avoid the network problems but also resending of videos was not allowed to provide a fair chance to all the participants.

iv. Photography: Theme: “ Where Liberty Dwells, There Is My Country”

Event Heads: Agamya Mishra, Nilofar Saleem;

Judge: Ms Subodhika Sharma.

To highlight the beauty of our nation, photography seems to be a good option.

This event saw the participation from various parts of the country. Participants came up with such beautiful shots that it was difficult to choose the best.

v. Webinar: Theme: “Preamble And Fundamental Duties: The Inextricable Parts Of The Constitution”

Guest speaker: Advocate Pragya Pandey of Allahabad High Court.

The webinar was organised to enhance the knowledge of students. The guest speaker Pragya Pandey a well known advocate of Allahabad High Court gave the students a brief overview about the importance of Fundamental Duties and the Preamble in the Constitution.

Students of Saroj Lalji Mehrotra Centre of Legal Studies put up a great performance and bagged the following positions:

a) First position in Essay- Deepti Pathak

b) First position in elocution- Niharika Nigam

c) Third position in elocution- Prashansa Singh

·      WEBINAR ON GENDER JUSTICE & WOMEN EMPOWERMENT WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO BETI BACHAO BETI PADHAO [10 November, 2020]

Saroj Lalji Mehrotra Centre of Legal Studies organized a webinar on “Gender Justice & Women Empowerment With Special Reference to Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” on November 10, 2020, with a registration of more than 800 participants across the legal fraternity.

Darshita Srivastava, a second-year learner, being the anchor, set the tone of the webinar while drawing the ‘startline in the journey’ of gender justice by calling for measures such as ‘behavioural changes’, ‘sensitizing boys’, and promoting equality among daughter and son. Prof (Dr.) Lalima thanked all the speakers and the participants for joining the webinar and thereby associating themselves with the cause of women empowerment which is the paramount purpose behind the establishment of S.S. Khanna Girl’s Degree College.

The first session was moderated by Ms Subodhika Sharma, Assistant Professor, S.S. Khanna Girls’ Degree College, where a promising Judicial Official, Mr Aishwarya Pratap Singh, currently serving as Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Kanpur, UP, considered practice of ‘sex detection’, ‘son preference syndrome’ and ‘the very denial of the right to born’ prevalent in the Indian society as the worst form of discrimination. In order to reverse the trend of declining sex ratio and for promoting the constitutional commitment of gender justice, Mr Singh highlighted the flagship scheme of “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” of the incumbent government which was launched from the Panipat. He further added that the clarion call issued by scheme served more than a symbolic value by portraying Panipat as the ‘fourth battleground’ wherefrom the societal evil of discrimination against the girl child will be combatted and defeated.

In the second session moderated by Ms Apoorva Singh, Visiting Faculty, S.S. Khanna Girls’ Degree College, distinguished speaker Prof Shakeel Shamdani, Dean, Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University, claiming to his credit of avoiding any cosmetic talks, too emphasized upon the need for changing the attitude of society for the realisation of the goals of gender justice where ending all forms of discrimination against women is not only seen as a basic human right but also considered as ‘crucial for sustainable future’. Both the speakers comprehensively covered various domestic laws, international conventions, and some of the landmark judgements of Hon’ble Supreme Court, which constitutes a milestone in the gender justice and women empowerment.

The third session was graced by the presence of an expert with a noted contribution in the field of Women & Law, Ms. Flavia Agnes, Senior Advocate Bombay High Court, who besides being the author of several books also runs an NGO, Majlis, which provides legal help, of all sort, to the women in their interaction with the criminal justice system. While intriguingly pointing out the legal support extended by her organisation to the women in need, she pithy remarked, with the instance of POCSO Act, 2012, the state’s apathy in enforcing their own laws. The session was moderated by the Ms Mohini Shukla, Assistant Professor, S.S. Khanna Girls’ Degree College, who also extended, on behalf of the host institution, her gratitude towards all the speakers for their valuable virtual presence, the principal and the management of S.S. Khanna Girls’ Degree College for their throughout support and encouragement, and also took the opportunity in thanking all the faculty members, the students, and all other participants.

·      ABHYUDAYA: NATIONAL LITERARY EVENT [12 -13 September, 2020]

Abhyudaya 2020: National Level Literary Event was held on 12-13 September 2020 having competitions like essay writing, poster making, quiz and debate. The event saw participation from institutions such as Jagran Lakecity University Bhopal, VIT Bhopal, SGT University Gurugram, BBDU Lucknow, Symbiosis Law College Noida, HPNLU Shimla and several colleges from Prayagraj.

Students of Saroj Lalji Mehrotra Centre of Legal Studies put up a great performance and bagged the following positions:

Ø  First position in Debate (Darshita Srivastava & Mahi Srivastava)

Ø  Third position in Debate (Apala Mishra & Shivangi Singh)

Ø  Second position in Quiz (Bodhi Vallari)

Ø  Third position in Quiz (Astha Verma)

Ø  First position in Poster Making (Manshi Dutta)

·      CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM [22 August – 04 September, 2020]

A Twelve Days Online Capacity Building Program on ‘Legal Research & Teaching Pedagogy’ was successfully organized in collaboration with Droit Penale Group and District Legal Services Authority, Prayagraj as a new orientation for the benefit of University and College faculty members, research scholars and Post-Graduate Students in Law with the objective to deepen the knowledge of legal education, and develop practical skills and research capabilities through clinical legal education among young faculties, scholars and LL.M students.

The Capacity Building Program Inaugural Ceremony was conducted on the 22^nd August 2020 in the presence of the Chairman, District Legal Services Authority, Mr. Chandra Mani Joshi, Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Prayagraj, Prof. Lalima Singh, Principal, S.S. Khanna Girls’ Degree College and Mr. Gaurav Gulati, Founder and Managing Director, Droit Penale Group. The Resource Persons from renowned institution were invited to take the session on the Legal Pedagogy. The program witnessed more than forty-five participants from across the nation.

We had the opportunity to have renowned speakers for the sessions, Day one we had Prof. Manoj Kumar Sinha, Director, Indian Law Institute, New Delhi who spoke on the “Right to Health Issues and Challenges”. Day two Prof. H.K. Sharma, Director, Human Recourse Development Cell, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj spoke on the “Role of Human Rights in Indian Judiciary”. Day three Prof. Mona Purohit, Head of Department, Barkatullaha University, Bhopal Spoke on “Uncodified Laws in India”. Day four Dr. Babugowda S. Patil, Associate Professor, V.M Salgoacar College of Law, Goa spoke on “Innovative Examination Methods”. Day five Prof. Vani Kesari, Director, School of Legal Studies, CUSAT, Kerala spoke on “ Pedagogical Methods in Teaching and Learning Human Rights Law”. Day six Prof. MRK Prasad, Principal, V.M Salgoacar College of Law, Goa spoke on “Legal Pedagogy in Law Schools”.  Day Seven Prof. Ajay Kumar Pandey, Professor, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat spoke on “Clinical Legal Education as an effective pedagogy in Legal Learning”. Day eight Dr. K. Parameswar, Associate Professor, Gujarat National Law University, Gandhi Nagar spoke on “Innovative and Effective Methods in Legal Pedagogy” Day Nine Dr. Vishnu Konoorayar, Head, Centre for Post Graduate Legal Studies, TERI, SAS spoke on “National Education Policy, 2020 and Legal Education”.  Day ten Prof. Nishtha Jaswal, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla spoke on “Human Rights Teaching in Law: National and International Perspective” Prof. K.C. Sunny, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi spoke on “Inter Disciplinary Legal Research” Day eleven Prof. Sairam Bhatt, Professor, National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru spoke on “Teaching Pedagogy of Environmental Laws” and Day twelve we had Dr. Nachiketa Mittal, Founder and Director, Virtual Law School who spoke on “Access to Justice and Law Teaching”.

The Valedictory Ceremony was witnessed by Mr. Chandra Mani Joshi, Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Prayagraj; Prof. Lalima Singh, Principal, S.S. Khanna Girls’ Degree College, Prayagraj and Mr. Gaurav Gulati, Founder and Managing Director, Droit Penale Group, Prayagraj .

The valedictory ceremony was addressed by Prof. Lalima Singh, Principal, S.S.

Khanna Girls’ Degree College. In the course of the twelve days online capacity building program the participants had submitted their research papers for publication in the edited book and the cover of the book “The Legal Prodigy” was released.

The Program was coordinated by Ms. Subodhika Sharma, Assistant Professor, S.S. Khanna Girls’ Degree College and Ms. Harmandeep Kaur, Editor at Droit Penale Group.

·      DISTINGUISHED VIRTUAL TALK [02 June, 2020]

The Centre of Legal Studies, jointly with Droit Penale Group, Prayagraj, organized a Distinguished Virtual Talk on 2^nd June 2020 with Prof. Rajen Harshe, former Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Allahabad as the Guest Speaker on ‘Democracy and Nation-Building’.

Remembering his days at Allahabad, he said, “It’s an honour to return to Allahabad in any capacity. I was reborn in this city in many ways.”

He said, “For the last 70 years, Indian State is trying to use democracy as a tool to achieve nation-building.” He tried to locate an idea of India in the life and works of Gandhi, Nehru, Savarkar, Ambedkar and Tagore.  Drawing from ideas of some of these thinkers, he argued, that India to emerge as a powerful nation must learn to celebrate its diversity and be more appreciative of the plurality of opinions.

On a question of the role of individual and institution in the nation building, he said, at a time when our democracy is having a ‘weakest opposition’, it is imperative for our citizens to be more vigilant and discharge their responsibilities as they ever did before. Underlining the role played by the Allahabad High Court in the famous Indira Gandhi election case, he said, robust institutions with competent persons at the helm can give a ray of hope in the gloomiest hour.

Prof. Lalima Singh, Principal of the college thanked Prof. Harshe for motivating young law students to lay a foundation for an egalitarian society. She also thanked Droit Penale group for facilitating a platform for quality discussion on socio-legal issues.

·      NATIONAL WEBINAR SERIES, 2020 [23 May – 16 June, 2020]

The Centre of Legal Studies, jointly with Droit Penale Group, Prayagraj, organised a National Webinar Series. The patron the series was Dr. Asha Seth, hosted by Prof. Lalima Singh, Principal S.S. Khanna Girls’ Degree College. A total of 10 sessions were conducted with students, scholars, academicians and professionals from all over the country participating. Various distinguished luminaries from the legal fraternity were invited as Guest Speakers.

Session 1

“How Legal Systems Vary Across Cultures” by Mr. Mahendra Soni, Assistant Professor, National Law Institute University, Bhopal on 23.05.2020.

The speaker in his address elaborated how cultures depend on geography and how societies are thus shaped by it. The laws and legal systems of societies vary with the practices, customs and traditions that they observe. He explained how a practice that may be prohibited in a society or community might be very well recognized and practiced in another. An interactive question and answer segment followed the address.

Session 2

“How Important is Political Science for Law Students” by Dr. K. Sangeetha, Assistant Professor, The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Chennai on 26.05.2020.

Emphasizing on the role of woman in the building of the society, the distinguished speaker dealt with the co-relation between “Laws, Women & Politics in India”. She outlined the role and contribution of women in the political sphere from pre-independence to post-independence India.

Session 3

“Role of Social Sciences in Law” by Dr. Harleen Kaur, Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi, New Delhi on 29.05.2020.

For an individual, law is a mere set of rules and regulation that finds its place in our day-to-day activities. The speaker laid emphasis on the fact “Why we cannot have a definite opinion about Law?” The session started with an inquisitive approach of the speaker seeking for the correct definition of the term ‘law’. The terms itself spear heads different meanings. The speaker opined that law being what is justice, equity and based on good conscience. The speaker sought to add clarity to the definition by taking into account the subjects of Jurisprudence, Philosophy, Ethics, History, Economics, Political Science and such other social sciences.

Session 4

“Discussion on Public Policy & Law” by Dr. Belu Gupta, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, New Delhi on 01.06.2020.

Public Policy as the underlying principle for the government for making of rules. These are made on behalf of the public for citizens play a pivotal role in a democratic setup like ours. A vast discussion on laws at hand and the various landmark judgments intermingling the function and application of such laws in the times of pandemic.

Session 5

“Public Law- The Sub-Field of Political Science that Studies Law & Courts” by Dr. Kumar Askand Pandey, Associate Professor, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow on 04.06.2020.

Public Law is regarded as the sub-category of Political Science that is concerned with the law in courts. It states the relationship between the State and the individual. How do these concepts fit in today’s schemes and how they influence the working of the courts? The scope of Public and Private law was covered.

Session 6

“Role of Corporate versus a Trial Lawyer” by Mr. Prashant Kumar, Advocate, Patna High Court on 07.06.2020.

The speaker explained how the different law school experiences fascinate the students with trials so that they aspire to become a practicing advocate while some aspire for the corporate sector. He emphasized that moot courts, internships, etc. are almost mandatory of every law student for the future paths that they may chose for themselves. The speaker, giving personal experiences as examples, explained in detail the role of traditional litigation lawyer, an in-house counsel and a corporate lawyer working in a law firm.

Session 7

“A Discourse on Trademark Laws” by Dr. Deevanshu Shrivastsva, Assistant Professor, Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal on 10.06.2020.

The present time carries much importance for Intellectual Property Rights. The speaker’s address ranged from the basics as to what constitute property to the types of trademarks. The easy use of words and screen sharing of slides added much visual interest to the attendees.

Session 8

“Life at Law School: A Plethora of Opportunities” by Ms. Priya Baranwal, Civil Judge, Bihar Judicial Services on 13.06.2020.

The speaker being a law student with an exceling career commanded great power in throwing light on the doubts and interests of the law students. The speaker emphasized on how being an active participant in every competition such as MUNs, parliamentary debates, elocutions, moot court competitions etc. adds to the exposure that is needed to handle pressure of options after law school. She also dealt with the various job profiles which are open to law students after their years of study, and also how one can prepare of competitive exams, study pattern and preparation time etc.

Session 9

“Enforcement and Protection Mechanism of Human Rights in India” by Dr. Taru Mishra, Amity University Lucknow on 15.06.2020.

Each individual is entitled to some rights that are inherent to human existence. Such rights should not be violated on the ground of gender, race, caste ethnicity, religion etc. These are called human rights. These rights are essential for all individuals as these are consonant with the freedom and dignity and ultimately contribute to social welfare. These ideas were elaborated by way of slides discussing important landmark judgments on Art. 21, Art. 14 etc.

Session 10

“Secularism: Sociological And Constitutional Underpinnings” by Prof. Amar Pal Singh, Dean, USLLS, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi on 16.06.2020.

The distinguished speaker began with the jurisprudential aspect of the concept of secularism. He threw light upon the origins of the concept, outlining the differences between the western model of secularism and the Indian model of secularism. He also dealt in detail with the kind of secularism being practiced in India, the constitutional provisions, landmark judgments and the various controversies surrounding the concept.

The final session was followed by a Vote of Thanks.