Bhubaneswar: The foundation plaque of Indian Institute of Law (IIL) was unveiled by Supreme Court Judges Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, Justice V Ramasubramanian on KIIT premises here, Saturday.
Senior advocate and chairman, Bar Council of India (BCI) and Bar Council of India Trust (BCIT), Manan Kumar Mishra, Odisha Advocate General Ashok Parija, senior advocate and executive chairman, BCIT Debi Prasad Dhal, associate managing trustee, BCIT and founder, KIIT & KISS, Achyuta Samanta and a host of legal luminaries graced the foundation ceremony.
IIL, being set up by BCI through BCIT with the support of KIIT Deemed to be University, will be a model institute of law teachers’ academy for promoting continuous legal education and research along with skill development of law teachers and practising lawyers.
Speaking on the occasion, Justice UU Lalit said, “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.”
Justice BR Gavai congratulated BCI and KIIT for this 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 expressed confidence that the IIL with the support of BCI and KIIT will produce the faculties who would provide quality education to the students throughout the country.
Justice V 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 will address disconnect between academicians and professionals, he added.
In his welcome address, 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 Samanta for his generous support to the initiative. KIIT is providing all necessary assistance in terms of land and infrastructure for this one-of-its-kind institute, he mentioned. Mishra admired Samanta’s selfless service to the society through Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), which is providing education to 30,000 underprivileged tribal children in a fully free and residential setting.
“Establishment of an institute of national importance like IIL in Bhubaneswar is a matter of pride for the state of Odisha”, said Samanta.
PNN