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We aim to give effect to the policy and direction of the National Legal Services Authority. The Clinic aims to provide free legal aid to poor, needy persons and the members of the weaker sections of society and to carry out the social welfare activities through sensitising people about their legal rights and duties. It conducts several Legal Literacy Camps to bring about legal awareness by engaging effectively with the marginalized sections of the society. It aims to provide practical knowledge of law to students by providing them with opportunities to know the ground realities. Different committees of the students have been formed to explore different areas where the legal aid is required.
Goals
Legal Aid Clinic of Institute of Law at Nirma University is created under the guidelines enshrined in – Article 39A, Art 14 and Art 22(1) of the Constitution of India and works on the principles laid down in The National Legal Services Authority which has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Legal aid strives to ensure that constitutional pledge is fulfilled in its letter and spirit and equal justice is made available to the poor, downtrodden and weaker sections of the society. The Legal Aid Clinic, Institute of Law, Nirma University is a student-run committee with faculty advisors having a supervisory role. The Legal Aid Clinic has been involved in fostering legal aid and awareness. The first Committee was formed in the year 2009 with Prof. Purvi Pokhariyal as its Chair Faculty Advisor.
Contemporary legal issues
We at Legal Aid Clinic for the general understanding of the students take up interesting legal stuff and present it in the form of Contemporary Legal Issues.
| Sr | Topic | Key takeaways |
|---|---|---|
| CLI- 01 | Encounter (Extra Judicial Killings) | Analysis of Extra-Judicial Killings in India and its Legal Position. |
| CLI- 02 | Rajasthan Political Turmoil | Analysis of current turmoil in Rajasthan in connection to the Gehlot Government |
| CLI- 03 | UK took a reverse gear on Huawei | Insight regarding the decision of UK to ban Huawei. The decision follows abstinence of the UK purchasing any technological equipment or services from the Chinese company due to security reasons. |
| CLI- 04 | Cornil KIT by Patanjali Ayurveda & The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements Act, 1954) | Fake claim was made by Patanjali regarding cure for COVID-19. Intricacies of law with respect to such false claims and it’s punishment |
| CLI- 05 | Consumer protection act, 2019 – Glance at New alterations in the world of consumer protection in India | Changes in the Consumer Protection Act and discussion whether the new steps are progressive or will it slow down the existing scenario |
| CLI-06 | Decriminalization of Offences under Companies Act 2013 | Increase the ease of business and reduce the pendency of cases, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman laid the foundation for the decriminalization of certain offenses under the Companies Act during the budget session. |
| CL- 07 | Prostitution not an offence | Analyzing state of the legal position of Prostitution in India |
| CL- 08 | Violation of Privacy and anonymous creator of the Aarogya Setu App | With the Corona virus outspread the Indian government came up with a contact tracing app “Aarogya Setu”. But after the various security and privacy loopholes in the server of the Aarogya Setu App, the ambiguity on the privacy and security policy increased. |
| CL- 09 | Uttar Pradesh Prohibition Of Unlawful Conversion Bill 2020 | Brief about the UP Prohibition on Unlawful Conversion Bill. |
| CL- 10 | Farm Law Bill ( I – II ) | Understanding the nuances of these farm laws and why farmers are protesting against these laws. |
| S. No | Case Name | Description |
| CBA 01 | Shirin R.K V. State Of Kerala | Right to Internet access as a fundamental right forming a part of the right to privacy and the right to education under Article 21 of the Constitution. |
| CBA 02 | Indibility Creative Pvt Ltd v. Govt of West Bengal | Deals with Article 19 of the Indian constitution. |
| CBA 03 | Vineeta Sharma V. Rakesh Sharma & Ors. | Analysis of the technicalities of the Hindu Succession Act and regarding
daughters’ birthright to inherit property from her parents. |
“Student Interactive Series” started via social media platforms wherein students and academicians deal with the practical aspect of contemporary legal issues and recent developments.
| Date | Speaker | Topic | Key Takeaways |
| 11/10/20 | Mr. Nikunj Maheshwari and Ms. Kajal Singh | “Demystifying individual insolvency under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016”. | The Session threw light on explaining the basics of what Individual Insolvency is revolving around the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 with the help of different case laws, like the very famous Reliance Case and others. This was followed by an energetic question answer series by the audience. |
| 8/11/2020 | Ms. Aishwarya Chauhan | “Will increased representation of women in law school lead to their increased gender ratio at Indian Judiciary?” | Dissecting the reasons of unequal gender ratio in Indian judiciary in correlation to the admission of women in law schools. |
| “Will formation of | Good governance by smaller states | ||
| 6/8/2020 | Mr. Akshit Mishra | smaller states yield better governance and is there a need for |
and lying special emphasis on if Uttar Pradesh division into smaller states to yield better results like |
| Uttar Pradesh to be | Culture Cohesion, Economies of | ||
| divided into smaller | Scale, Rivers, Rich Historical | ||
| states?” | Background and others. Improve | ||
| governance including giving more | |||
| powers to District Development | |||
| Committees and thus enhancing | |||
| the same chances of improving | |||
| good governance. | |||
| Mr. Lokesh | “How good | Basics about researching, How to | |
| Vyas | researching skill can | write to get published, Importance | |
| help you build an | of papers in internships and | ||
| extraordinary CV” | corporate jobs. Ideal platforms for | ||
| publication, use of research tools. |
| Workshop on Legal Research by SCC Online | ||
| Date | Speaker | Outcome of Workshop |
| 16/08/2020 | Ms. Akshita Totla |
|
| Co-ordinator | Dr Foram Patel |
| Co-coordinators | Dr Shivani Mehta Dr Gururaj Devarhubli Dr Sachin Kumar Sharma |
| Student Chairperson | Shashwat Pritesh Shah |
| Student Secretary | Heli Kavin Bhavsar |
This will contain contact information of:
Legal Aid clinic: legalaidclinic@nirmauni.ac.in
Link to Social Media Handles
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legalaidclinic_ilnu/?hl=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/legal-aid-clinic-institute-of-law-nirma-university
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/legalaidilnu/
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Disclaimer: Legal Aid provides pro-bono services to only those who are unable to afford a lawyer due to their financial conditions.
Sambarmati Jail Project
Institute of Law, Nirma University has a separate office in the Sabarmati Jail where the students from the legal Aid committee regularly go and listen to the grievances of the jail inmates. These inmates are ‘under trial’ inmates and not convicted. This is done in the presence of Jail Authority. As a legal Aid member the ‘chair’ (head) for the same offers to listen to the problem (questions) of the inmates and offer solution and generally update about their legal matter if need be. Since 2011, the legal aid clinic at Sabarmati jail has counseled 3292 under-trial needy persons and successfully assisted 588 persons to get advocate through Legal Service Authority. The clinic has also organized various legal awareness camps at Sabarmati Jail – for convicted as well as under-trial prisoners- and in the nearby villages along with conducting various workshops and community service programmes. We look forward to continuing our work with the next coming up year. We also have plans on holding special sessions for the first years that haven’t had any jail visits yet.
Legal Literacy and Awareness Campus
The legal Aid Committee set up in the year 2009 conducts several Legal Literacy Camps to bring about legal awareness by engaging effectively with the marginalized sections of the society. It aims to provide practical knowledge of law to students by providing them with opportunities to know the ground realities. Different committees of the students have been formed to explore different areas where the legal aid is required.
Paralegal Training
Legal Aid Committee also looks forward to training paralegals that are recognized by the District Legal Services Authority (a statutory body for providing free legal services for the citizens). Thus, making the young learners ready to give back to the society.
Analysis of Contemporary Legal Affairs
We at Legal Aid Clinic for the general understanding of the students take up interesting and must-know legal stuff and present it in the form of Contemporary Legal Issues.
Legal Awareness Programme at Kalol Law College
Legal Aid Clinic, Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad has organised a session on “Legislation in India: With Special Reference to Women’s Rights” on March 9, 2022 to celebrate Women’s Day of March 8, 2022. The lecture was delivered by DL Patel, Ret. Principal District Judge, Clinical Professor, Institute of Law, Nirma University. The session was followed by Devang Chhatrapati, Asst. professor, Legal Aid Clinic delivering a lecture on “Constitution and Women Rights”
The session was organised for the students of Kalol Law College, District Gandhinagar. The participants of the event included about 220 students of Kalol Law College. Students were informed about Women rights covering 17 legislations and rights covered under the constitution of India.
A session on Preamble – Constitution of India and Fundamental Duties
Legal Aid Clinic Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad has organised a session on “Preamble – Constitution of India and Fundamental Duties” on January 18, 2022. The lecture was delivered by Dr Vikas Upadhaya, Asst. Professor, Institute of Law, Nirma University.
The session was organised for the students of 11th and 12th class in the campus of Hiramani School. Ahmedabad. The participants of the event included 120 students of the Hiramani School. Students were informed about prospects in legal education. The students inquired about CLAT exam during the question answer session and proper guidance was provided to them.
Legal Awareness Programme
The Legal Aid Clinic of Institute of Law, Nirma University has organized a Legal Awareness Programme at Siddharth Law College, Gandhinagar on the topic “How to Put Up the Defence in Criminal Trial?” on December 17, 2021. The expert session was delivered by Clinical Prof. D. L. Patel. The Lecture touched upon the different aspects of defences that an accused can avail in pursuit of defending himself from a conviction. The lecture was successfully conducted at the college and was helpful in acquainting 130 law students with awareness of criminal defences.
Celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav at Sabarmati Jail
The Legal Aid Clinic of Institute of Law, Nirma University has celebrated Aadi ka Amrit Mahotsav at Sabarmati Jail From November 10-14, 2021. Lectures were provided by faculty members of Institute of Law, Nirma University. This helped to make aware the undertrial and convicted prisoners of their fundamental rights. We also organised a Q&A session in which 425 male and female undertrial and convicted prisoners participated and satisfied their various doubts and queries.
Distinguished Lecture by Hon’ble Ms Justice Gita Gopi on Importance of Legal Aid Activities
Institute of Law, Nirma University has organised a distinguished lecture on the theme “Importance of Legal Aid Activities for Law Students” by Hon’ble Ms. Justice Gita Gopi, Judge, High Court of Gujarat on 16th October 16, 2021 at Institute of Law, Nirma University.
The session was organised for the students of Institute of Law, Nirma University. The participants of the event included about 230 students.
Hon’ble Ms. Justice Gita Gopi in her lecture, referred to Article 51A of the constitution dealing with Fundamental Duties. She discussed various aspects of equality with reference to Article 14 of the constitution. She advised the students to be well conversant with the provisions of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and talked about the discriminatory practices prevailing in the society and role of law in securing a just society.
Legal Aid Services to under trial and Convicted Prisoners
The Legal Aid Clinic of Institute of Law, Nirma University has provided free Legal Aid Serives at Sabarmati Jail to under trial & convicted prisoners on September 18, 2021.
The undertrial and convicted prisoners had visited us and put their queries. The team of legal aid clinic has provided free legal advice. 257 undertrial and convicted prisoners have received the benefits of Legal Aid.