National Law School of India University's Panel Discussion on Constitution, Domicile, and Inclusivity in Indian Legal Education

About the NLSIU, Bangalore

NLSIU was the first National Law University established in India in 1986. The premier law school was set up with a mission to pioneer legal education reforms, and to anchor the transformation of the Indian legal system through research and policy interventions. Consequently, the NLSIU was one of the first institutions in the country to introduce the five-year integrated law degree at the undergraduate level with the commencement of the first batch in 1988.

About the Kautilya Society

The Editors at Law School Policy Review also constitute the National Law School of India University Chapter of the Kautilya Society, a student policy research organization, sponsored by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.

The Kautilya Society actively researches on and prepares policy briefs dealing with contemporary socio-legal issues, while engaging the student community in such research activities by setting up research panels on legislative matters, organizing conferences, and publishing informative podcasts where domain experts appear as guests.

About the Panel Discussion

A panel discussion is being organized by the NLSIU Kautilya Society, in conjunction with the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, to be held on February 19 & 20.

In late December 2021, the NLSIU Kautilya Society had released a comprehensive research brief on the issue of residency or domicile-based affirmative action in National Law Universities (NLUs) to aid with research and discourse on the issue. The brief brought out very pertinent and interesting points of discussion, including those around policy formulation, constitutional perspectives and inclusivity concerns.

To the end of building upon these points and adding to the wider conversation on these issues, the NLSIU Kautilya Society, under the aegis of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, is organizing 2 panel discussions (webinar format) under the broad theme of “Constitution, Domicile, and Inclusivity in Indian Legal Education” on February 19th and 20th, 2022 at 5 PM.

The Agenda

Panel 1 (February 19, 2022, 5 PM IST)
- Topic: Constitutional Issues Surrounding Domicile Reservation in National Law Universities
- The first panel will extensively discuss the constitutional law and policy questions around domicile reservation in NLUs.
Panel 2 (February 20, 2022, 5 PM IST)
- Topic: Inclusive Legal Education Reforms
- The second panel discussion will look at general inclusivity-oriented reforms in Indian legal education and the role domicile reservations can play in it.

About the Speakers

Panel 1

1. Mr. C.K. Nandakumar is a 2001 graduate of NLSIU and is currently working as a Senior Advocate in the High Court of Karnataka. He has had over 15 years of practicing experience in various facets of law and was directly involved in the NLSIU domicile reservation case. [Panelist 1]

2. Prof. (Dr.) G. Mohan Gopal is a former ex-Director (Vice-Chancellor) of NLSIU. He is a former Director of the National Judicial Academy of the Supreme Court of India and the founder-Chair of the National Court Management Systems Committee. [Panelist 2]

3. Prof. Sidharth Chauhan, a 2008 graduate of NLSIU, is currently working as Assistant Professor at NALSAR, Hyderabad, where he is also pursuing his Ph.D. He holds an LLM in Constitutional Law and Legal Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania. [Moderator]

Panel 2

1. Prof. (Dr.) Amita Dhanda is currently a Professor Emerita at NALSAR, Hyderabad. She has extensively researched, and assisted the Central Government and the Supreme Court, on the topic of legal and policy reform in the field of disability rights. [Panelist 1]

2. Mr. Alok Kumar is the Co-Founder of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and Lead, Vidhi Karnataka. He is a 2008 graduate of NALSAR, Hyderabad, and obtained his BCL from the University of Oxford in 2009.

3. Ms. Svetlana Correya is an Executive Director at IDIA Karnataka. She was a Bertha Fellow with the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, Berlin, and has worked extensively on human rights litigation and capacity-building programs for diverse audiences. [Panelist 3]

4. Ms. Adeeba Rahman is a Director at IDIA Karnataka. [Panelist 4]

5. Mr. Husain Aanis Khan is a 2021 graduate of Jamia Milia Islamia and is currently a Research Fellow at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. [Moderator]