The foundation plaque of an Indian Institute of Law (IIL) was unveiled by Supreme Court Judges Uday Umesh Lalit, Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai and V Ramasubramanian in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
Justice Lalit welcomed establishment of the IIL and commended Bar Council of India (BCI) and KIIT University for the step. “Change is the only constant in life. Continuing education is important in every profession; it is part of everybody’s life. Perhaps, this is the first step which will again imbibe the culture when we will be having more and more such institutes, and more and more the idea of continuing education taking root in everybody’s mind”, he said.
Justice Gavai congratulated the BCI and the KIIT for the very important step. National Law University in Bengaluru set up by BCI in 1988 brought a sea transformation in legal education and quality of lawyers. Similarly, establishment of IIL is also a milestone in the history of Bar Council of India, he said. He expressed confidence that the IIL with the support of BCI and KIIT University would produce the faculties, who would provide quality education to the students throughout the country. It will also produce faculties who will imbibe the constitutional values among the students, he said.
Justice Ramasubramanian said there are currently more than 1,000 law colleges in the country producing about 2.5 lakh law graduates every year. The IIL would address disconnect between academicians and professionals, he added. BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said currently, there is no training institute in Law in the country to cater to the skill development needs of law teachers and advocates. He expressed his gratitude to Prof.
Achyuta Samanta for his generous support to the initiative. KIIT University is providing all necessary assistance in terms of land and infrastructure for this one-of-its-kind institute, he mentioned.
“Establishment of an institute of national importance like IIL in Bhubaneswar is a matter of pride for Odisha”, said KIIT University founder Prof Achyuta Samanta. Thanking the BCI for partnering with KIIT, he said, “Though KIIT is a young university, it has been accorded ‘Institution of Eminence’ tag by the Government. of India.” Odisha Advocate General Ashok Parija said, “Today, along with engineering, medicine and management, law has become a preferred field of study for aspirational youths. IIL will go a long way in improving the quality of law faculty in the country.” Eminent educationist Prof NL Mitra also spoke.