cols newsletter jan-feb,2015

Volume II, Issue I-II

EDITORIAL BOARD

Chairman:

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad

Faculty-in-Charge:

Dr. Sujata Bali

Media Coordinator:

Ms. Charu Srivastava

Sumaiya Saleem

Ed-in-Chief:

Arahant Jain

Associate Editors:

Arpita Sharma

Puja Kumari

Design and Layout:

Saif Rahman Ansari

Assistant Editors:

Aniket Chatterji

Anushka Dhawan

Aprajita Gupta

Bhavya Upadhyay

Neha Singh

Rashmi Singh

Sarthak Sharma

Shipra Prashant

Ap

COLS NEWSLETTER Volume II, Issue I – II January-February, 2015

FROM THE PRO-VICE CHANCELLOR’S DESK…

We at UPES take great pride in the College of Legal Studies

(COLS) Newsletter which has become the mouthpiece of the

college. Communication, as you all know, is the key for the

growth of any institution. I am sure this great initiative from

CoLS would continue be a great tool to share with

the UPES fraternity in particular and the legal community in

general about the great initiatives both in the curricular and

extracurricular areas being carried out in the College.

Ours is a unique domain-focused legal curriculum which is even unique for

law schools, especially our Tech. + Law programs. Over the last few months

there have been impressive achievements in all fronts in the College.

Noteworthy among them are UPES teams winning moot

courts and debates at the national level and faculty publishing research

papers in celebrated forums.

It is heartening to see that since the publication of the last issue of the

Newsletter, much progress has been made at CoLS. Events like the

innovative Novice Moot Court Competition and our annual Techno-

Managerial-Legal fest IGNITE are noteworthy among the many events that

have made COLS proud. CoLS also hosted Judge Sandra E. Oxner O.C., and

Prof. Heidi Robertson this term.

I am happy to note that this issue has impressive reports of all these

events and many other high lights such as student opinions of legal

developments, faculty and alumnus interview, introduction of new faculty

members etc.

I wish the CoLS Newsletter all the best for its endeavors in keeping the

communication flowing.

Best wishes

Prof. Utpal Ghosh

Pro-Vice Chancellor

Highlights

Courtroom Drama 2 Opportunities 8

Law and Beyond 4 Know your Teacher 9

As we see it 5 Know your Alumnus 10

Beyond Bar & Bench 6 Campus News 11

Around the Globe 7 Student Achievements 13

Faculty Introductions 14


Courtroom Drama

SC Recommends Setting up of Special

Benches in the HCs to Settle Election

Disputes

The Supreme Court’s division bench comprising

of Justice R.F.Nariman and Justice J.

Chelameswar has recommended creation of

special benches in all the High Courts in the

country to settle election disputes. It was observed

that it is very rare that the election dispute gets

settled during the tenure of the candidate in power

and hence this results in violation of justice.

A bench which is not burdened with any other

work apart from solving the election disputes will

be effective and will also result in speedy trial of

cases. The bench further said that there is a

"sacred responsibility" which is given to the

members of legislative bodies.

It was held:

"The continuance of any member in such bodies

who secured his election to such a body by legally

impermissible means even for a day is most

undesirable. Such continuance affords an

opportunity to such a member to take part in the

law-making process affecting the destinies of the

people."

The High Courts will be open to unwanted

criticism if there is a delay in adjudicating the

election disputes and to avoid such a situation,

special benches are recommended. The court here

was hearing a petition filed by Mohd. Akbar, a

congress candidate, who had questioned the

election of Ashok Sahu, a BJP candidate in

Chhattisgarh’s Kawardha. Allegations of corrupt

practices were made and summons were further

issued by the High Court in January, 2014. Due to

delay in justice, Akbar had moved the Supreme

Court.

The Writ Jurisdiction Cannot be

Applied in Judicial Orders of Civil

Court

Setting aside a Division Bench's order of

Supreme Court in the matter of Surya Dev Rai v.

Ram Chander Rai & Ors, a Supreme Court

Bench comprising of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu,

Justice A.K Sikri and Justice A.K. Goel has

ruled that judicial orders of civil court are not

amenable to writ jurisdiction under Article 226

of the Constitution and that jurisdiction under

Article 227 is distinct from jurisdiction under

Article 226.

The Bench was hearing a matter placed before it

by a Bench of two judges, in order to consider

the correctness of the law laid down by the

Court in the previous judgment. The Court

observed, "Writ jurisdiction is constitutionally

conferred on all High Courts.”

There are no precedents in India for High

Courts to issue writs to subordinate courts.

Control of working of subordinate courts in

dealing with their judicial orders is exercised by

way of appellate or revisional powers or power

of superintendence under Article 227. Orders of

Civil Court stand on different footing from the

orders of authorities or Tribunals or courts other

than judicial/ civil courts. While appellate or

revisional jurisdiction is regulated by statutes,

power of superintendence under Article 227 is

constitutional. The expression 'inferior court' is

not referable to judicial courts.

Courtesy: LiveLaw web-portal


Setting New Trends: SC on Corporate

Criminal Liability

In another recent case of Sunil Bharti Mittal v.

CBI, the Supreme Court laid down important

principles with respect to corporate criminal

liability. This recent judgment is significant,

insofar as it clearly lays down the circumstances

in which a director or a person in charge of the

affairs of a company can be prosecuted when

the company is an accused. The first situation is

where the person, who has committed the

offence on behalf of a company, can be made

accused along with the company.

The second situation is where there exists a

specific statutory provision making such

persons vicariously liable. The Court clarified

that a director cannot, in general, be made

vicariously liable for the acts/crimes of the

company. It is, in fact, the mens rea of persons

directing the business of the company that is

attributed to the company (as per the “alter ego”

doctrine), and not the other way round (as was

done by the Special Magistrate in this case,

where the acts of the company were attributed

to the appellant).

Newsletter is Recruiting

The CoLS Newsletter is now recruiting

reporters and editors.

Any Student may apply with a sample of his/her

writing.

Applications shall be emailed to

[email protected] with a CC marked to

[email protected] latest by April 10, 2015.

SC strikes down ‘draconian’ Section

66A

Section 66A of the Information Technology Act is

unconstitutional in its entirety, the Supreme Court

ruled on Tuesday striking down a “draconian”

provision that had led to the arrests of many

people for posting content deemed to be

“allegedly objectionable” on the Internet.

“It is clear that Section 66A arbitrarily,

excessively and disproportionately invades the

right of free speech and upsets the balance

between such right and the reasonable restrictions

that may be imposed on such right,” said a Bench

of Justices J. Chelameswar and Rohinton F.

Nariman. The definition of offences under the

provision was “open-ended and undefined”, it

said.

In the judgment, the court said the liberty of

thought and expression was a cardinal value of

paramount significance under the Constitution.

Three concepts fundamental in understanding the

reach of this right were discussion, advocacy and

incitement. Discussion, or even advocacy, of a

particular cause, no matter how unpopular it was,

was at the heart of the right to free speech and it

was only when such discussion or advocacy

reached the level of incitement that it could be

curbed on the ground of causing public disorder.

The court went on to say that Section 66A actually

had no proximate connection with public order or

with incitement to commit an offence. “The

information disseminated over the Internet need

not be information which ‘incites’ anybody at all.

Written words may be sent that may be purely in

the realm of ‘discussion’ or ‘advocacy’ of a

‘particular point of view’. Further, the mere

causing of annoyance, inconvenience, danger, etc.,

or being grossly offensive or having a menacing

character are not offences under the Indian Penal

Code at all,”

The court said: “Every expression used is

nebulous in meaning”. The court pointed out that

a penal law would be void on the grounds of

vagueness if it failed to define the criminal

offence with sufficient definiteness.

Courtesy: The Hindu

mailto:[email protected]



Law & Beyond

Government’s Mark sheet: Finance Budget 2015

After introduction of ground-breaking concepts like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Make in India, all eyes

were set for the first full- ledged budget of the Modi government. The expectations of a common man

amplified with the budget. It was anticipated that there will be significant policy changes that would

positively make an impact in day to day lives of middle class. The government has taken numerous

measures for gradual improvement of confidence of foreign investors in Indian equity in the past 9 months,

but the common man's expectations have nothing to do with such reforms. Strong measures towards curbing

inflation, black money and addressing social issues like women safety and rural amelioration is what we

hoped for.

Budget 2015 is pioneering and growth focused and has taken in hand challenges faced by businesses in

India. Finance minister has allocated Rs. 70,000 cr for infrastructure that will spur advancement of roads,

railways, power and ports which in result will ease doing business. Budget sternly punishes corruption and

slashes red tape. However, for middle class Jaitley's budget came as a bit of disappointment. There was

neither an increase in the basic exemption limit nor the limit of deduction under section 80(c) was raised.

However, budget offered a combination of additional tax savings on investment in pension schemes, medical

insurance premium and exemption on transport allowance. But an increase in service tax from 12% to 14%

will impact household budgets. Following are some of the major highlights of the budget 2015:

For Corporates: Threshold limit of domestic transfer pricing provisions increased from Rs. 5 crore to Rs.

20 crore; Applicability of GAAR deferred by 2 years; Reduction in corporate tax from 30% to 25% over the

next four years; Hike in corporate surcharge from 10% to 12% for companies having income more than Rs.

10 crore.

For Middle Class: Deduction limit for health insurance premium under section 80(d) increased to Rs.

25,000 from Rs.15, 000 and for senior citizens from Rs. 20,000 to Rs.30, 000; Limit for investment in

pension funds increased from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 1.5 lakh; Service tax rate hiked from 12% to 14% resulting in

a burden on wallets; Swacch Bharat cess of 2% has been proposed to be levied on services.

For Upper Class: Wealth tax has been abolished; Surcharge has been increased from 10% to 12% on

individuals having taxable income above Rs. 1cr.

For Social Security: Rs. 1,000 crore allocated towards 'Nirbhaya Fund' and Rs. 100 crore for 'Beti bachao,

Beti padhao’; Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana has been introduced to provide accidental cover of Rs.

2 lakh for a premium of Rs. 12 per year; Atal Pension Yojna has been introduced to provide pension limited

to Rs. 1,000 each year, until five years.

However, the budget lacked adequate roadmap on the ground for achieving such intentions. Budget has

addressed some of the major issues faced by businesses in India. It has also attempted to deal with concern

like long term growth, wider social safety nets and boost in investments.


As We See It

SC on pathological arbitration agreement

The Supreme Court of India, in the recent case of Pricol Limited (herein referred to as ‘Pricol’) v.

Johnson Controls Enterprise Ltd. & Ors., (herein referred to as Johnson), (Arbitration case no. 30 of

2014) yet again established its pro-arbitration approach by rationally and eloquently interpreting a

pathological arbitration agreement. Additionally, the Court held that the appointment of a sole

arbitrator by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and a partial award having being

passed by the arbitral tribunal on the issue of jurisdiction, cannot be examined in a petition under

Section 11(6) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

The dispute arose between both the parties when they were unable to reach on a mutual consensus

on the appointment of sole arbitrator. Then, Johnson approached SIAC for the appointment of

arbitrator and SIAC while exercising its powers under Section 8(2) and 8(3) of the Singapore

International Arbitration Act, appointed Mr Steven Lim as the sole arbitrator. Mr Lim passed an

initial award upholding the jurisdiction.

Aggrieved by the said appointment and initial award, Pricol moved the SC. The SC with a pro-

arbitration approach held that such award and jurisdiction cannot be challenged under Section 11(6)

of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. The Court undertook a reasonable and meaningful

construction of the pathological arbitration agreement. The recognition was given to the intent of the

parties to arbitrate the dispute despite the fact that it was under a non-existent institution and the

same was upheld by the court. In doing so, the Supreme Court kept in mind the purpose of

arbitration agreement and ensured that it shouldn’t be defeated by way of expenditure of money and

time in litigation.

The court very well acknowledged the fact that if it passes any order, then it would amount to an

appeal against the decision of SIAC and said that such act of court would be inappropriate.

This approach of the court is an important milestone and prefigures sound for the litigants who

prefer arbitration. It also alarms us of the heed that is crucial whilst drafting an arbitration

agreement so that such needless issues do not arise in the course of any proceeding. An arbitration

agreement must be drafted in a manner that does not allow any mischievous interpretations to pester

and eat up valuable time and money.


Beyond Bar & Bench: News from the profession

Split of India’s Biggest Law Firm

Largest Indian law firm, Amarchand & Mangaldas

& Suresh A. Shroff & Co. is all set to split from

the coming financial year.

The Managing Partners of the firm’s Delhi and

Mumbai offices, Shradul Shroff and Cyril Shroff,

had differences arising out of their mother’s will.

Failing to arbitrate, the brothers decided to split

the firm. Cyril and Shradul are all set to start

offices in Delhi and Mumbai, respectively under

the new banner.

SEBI notifies New Insider Trading

Regulations

On January 15, 2015, the Securities and Exchange

Board of India (SEBI) has notified the new Insider

Trading Regulations expanding the scope of

connected persons, introducing new concepts such

as generally available information and exemption

for due diligence and streamlining exposures.

The Insider Trading norms are being overhauled

after a 20 year gap, following the

recommendations made by a committee under the

chairmanship of Justice N.K. Sodhi. The

committee had submitted its report in December,

2013 recommending a new set of insider trading

regulations which were approved by the SEBI

Board in November, 2014. The said regulations

are named as Securities and Exchange Board of

India (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations,

2015.

Centre shoots down PIL seeking use of

Hindi as language in Supreme Court

and High Court

A PIL was recently filed in the SC by advocate

Shiv Sagar Tiwari contending that Article 348 of

the Constitution of India which prescribes English

as the official language of the higher judiciary, is a

violation of the Constitution of India. It was also

contended that English is a ghulami bhasha which

is not the vernacular for the litigants. A bench of

Justices Dattu and Bobde had thereafter issued

notice to the Central Government.

In response to this, the Department of Official

Language of the Home Ministry rejected the

proposal to change the language to Hindi, placing

reliance upon the 216th

Law Commission Report

of 2008. The Report had carefully analyzed the

related constitutional provisions and had also

referred to the views of senior members of the

higher judiciary on this issue.

Development in the DLF v. SEBI Matter

In a voluminous order, the Securities Appellate

Tribunal (SAT) has set aside a SEBI order of

October 2014, that banned DLF and its promoters

from accessing the securities market.

SEBI had found out that DLF resorted to sham

transactions of share transfer with a view to

camouflage the association of DLF with Felicite,

Shalika and Sudipti as dissociation and thereby

misleading the investors by not disclosing the

relevant information in the offer documents.

Although DLF’s stand has been vindicated in

SAT, it has still suffered a ban of around 5 months

on account of the SEBI order.

Courtesy: Bar & Bench online portal accessible at www.barandbench.com


Around the Globe

Former Maldives President sentenced

by country’s criminal court

[Maldives]

The Criminal Court of Maldives on Friday sentenced

former Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed to 13

years in prison for terrorism-related charges. The

charges relate to actions taken three years ago by the

former President which included the arrest and

detainment of a top judge. The Maldives judge

presiding over the case stated in court, "[t]he

prosecution's evidence proved beyond reasonable

doubt that Nasheed ordered the chief judge's arrest or

forceful abduction and detention." Many human rights

groups have spoken out against the arrest and

conviction of Nasheed claiming that the Maldives

Judiciary's decisions are politically motivated. Reports

indicate that the verdict may cause increased street

violence and protesting which could affect future

tourism.

The Maldives judiciary has generated significant

controversy over the last two years. In October the UN

Office of the High Commissioner for Human

Rights [official website] expressed concern [JURIST

report] over the Supreme Court's prosecution of five

members of the Maldives Human Rights Commission.

In March the Supreme Court dismissed the country's

four top election commissioners, giving each a six-

month jail sentence and three-year suspension for

"disobeying orders." In November 2013 the Supreme

Court suspended the nation's presidential election for

the third time.

Amendment to Equal Pay Bill to be

debated and voted upon

[United Kingdom]

The House of Lords on Wednesday will debate Equal

Pay (Transparency) Bill recently passed

through Parliament that will require certain businesses

to reveal whether there are differences in the pay of

male and female employees. The bill calls for the

Secretary of State to make changes to the 2010

Equality Act , requiring employers with more than 250

employees to publish information relating to employee

pay. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg opined: "The

labour market is still stacked against women. It's

simply not acceptable, in the 21st century, that women

on average still receive a smaller pay packet than

men." However, another government spokesperson

reported that the gender pay gap is currently at an all-

time low. If changes to the law are approved, women

will have easier access to challenging an employer

when they are not receiving fair compensation. Firms

with more than 250 employees that refuse to comply

with it could be fined up to £5,000.

The gender pay gap has continuously affected other

countries, as well. A group of UN experts on the issue

of discrimination against women reported Friday that

"no country has achieved full substantive equality of

women." In contemplation of International Women's

Day on March 8, Eurostat, the statistical office of the

European Union (EU) revealed that women, on

average, earned 16 percent less than men in the EU,

and that the UK has the sixth-largest gender pay gap

within the EU.

Proposal made to change Bulgarian Criminal Code [Bulgaria]

The Bulgarian Ministry of Justice proposed a bill amending and supplementing Bulgaria's criminal code to

address growing threats of terrorism. The purpose of the bill is to fill in gaps of the criminal code, as well as

to fulfill Bulgaria's commitments under UN Security Council Resolution 2178 to fight against terrorism. The

bill proposes restricting the movements of people traveling with the goal of preparing, planning or

participating in terrorism. The bill also would punish those who participate in the financing, planning or

preparing to commit terrorist acts by providing or receiving terrorist training. Punishments for those

committing cyber-terrorism have also been proposed. All provisions aim to prevent terrorists from finding

safe haven in Bulgaria.

Source: Jurist online portal


Opportunities

National Funding Rounds of the Manfred

Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition

2015

Register by April 1

The National Law School of India University,

in association with the Indian Space Research

Organisation, [“ISRO”] is organizing the

National Funding Rounds of

the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court

Competition, from April 25-27, 2015.

The winner of this round will be sponsored by

ISRO, in order to facilitate participation in the

Asia-Pacific Regional Rounds to be held in

Bandung, Indonesia.

For Further Details Contact:

Sidhanth Ramachandran | +91-9663788014

Radhika Kapoor | +91-9538526519

Arunima Kedia | +91-9538408199 or mail at

[email protected]

Alliance University – Surana & Surana

National Essay Competition 2015

Submit by April 2

Alliance School of Law, Alliance University

in collaboration with Surana and Surana

International Attorneys, Chennai is organising

a National Essay Competition 2015 on “Social

Justice and Public Empowerment”.

For Further Details Contact:

Prof. Abraham Joseph | Assistant Professor of

[email protected]

+91 80 30938234 / +91 99867 67742

Prof. Pritam Ghosh | Assistant Professor of

Law [email protected]

Call for Papers: International Journal of

Legal Sciences and Research

Submit by April 8

International Journal of Legal Sciences and

Research (ISSN: 2394 -7977) is now

accepting submissions for its upcoming issue.

Academic submissions in the form of articles,

short notes, book reviews and case

commentaries on a host of legal and social

issues, both national and international which

include multidisciplinary contemporary

research are accepted. Last date to submit the

manuscripts is April 8, 2015

For Further Details Contact Executive

Editor: Sikander Sharma | +91 8130317767

Or for any clarifications, e-mail at

[email protected].

Call for Papers: NLSIU Journal of Law

and Public Policy

Submit by April 30

Journal of Law and Public Policy, a law

journal of NLSIU Bangalore, is soliciting

submissions for its second issue to be

launched in July 2015. Submissions may be in

the form of Articles, Research papers, Case

Comments, Legislative Comments or

Book/Movie Reviews. submissions to be e-

mailed to [email protected] (in MS Word

format) along with a covering letter addressed

to Dr. Sairam Bhat (Coordinator & Chief

Editor, Journal of Law and Public Policy,

2015).

For further details, email at [email protected]





Know Your Teacher

Ms. Shikha Dimri [Asst. Prof. (Senior Scale)] is with CoLS since its inception in 2007. That alone, let alone

other considerations, makes her the finest choice of team-CoLS-Newsletter for this issue. Some excerpts from

the conversation:

Team CoLS Newsletter (TCN): Madam, how has been your professional journey thus far?

Shikha Dimri (SD): My professional journey has been good and filled with experiences. I have seen lot of

changes in the department. I have seen CoLS growing and expanding. However, I am aware that the learning

process is ever continuing. I can call it a journey filled with inspiration and learning.

TCN: What are the essentials for a conducive teaching-learning environment?

SD: Dedication is the keyword. It demands not only committed faculty but also dedicated students.

Infrastructural constraints are never big enough to prevent the dedicated professionals’ journey toward

excellence.

TCN: What is required from the students of CoLS to better themselves in the field of law?

SD: Our students go to competitions and often do they comeback with trophies. But one thing that

consistently lacks is that majority of our students needs to work more on the fundamentals of the subject. We

have a focus on the domain knowledge but the basic law subjects should not be taken less seriously. This

would increase their strength in the discipline of law and will also increase the number of trophies.

TCN: How would you describe the relationship between faculty and students at CoLS?

SD: Very good. Our faculty is always willing to help the students and they give sufficient time to the

students. The teacher-students relation positively reflects in the organization of events. This is another way

of grooming the students’ personality.

TCN: What are your suggestions for improving the teaching-learning environment at CoLS?

SD: We are fairly good at almost everything. However towards a better teaching-learning environment I

believe that quality of research project/assignments should improve without the threat of sticks and students’

inclination to research, time spent in library and on the research databases should increase without any

compulsion. These non-coercive developments towards quality assertion would surely strengthen the

teaching-learning environment.

TCN: Beyond the professional life, what do you indulge in as a hobby?

SD: Spending time with pets, listening to music, and driving.

TCN: Since its inception, you have seen the college develop, what changes have you noticed in terms of

students and the teaching-learning environment at large?

SD: One of the positive changes I observe is that the students have started focussing on litigation. This is a

good sign for the students and also for the society.

TCN: Thank you ma’am for speaking to us.


Know Your Alumnus

Nikhil Parikshith

One of the first to bag a dream-firm placement, Nikhil is special for his writing and research skills. Presently,

Nikhil is an Associate with Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co., New Delhi. Read on for his

musings on his life and career.

Team CoLS Newsletter (TCN): How did your experience at UPES help you shape your career?

Nikhil Parikshith (NP): My experience at UPES provided me with the wherewithal to become a professional

and well-informed lawyer.

TCN: What would you look for if you were to hire graduates from UPES?

NP: Sincerity, honesty and an insatiable passion for the law.

TCN: If you get a chance to re-live the college life, what would you do differently?

NP: I would have spent more time in library and participated in more moot court events.

TCN: How do you describe the corporate law culture?

NP: The corporate culture is challenging and full of trials and tribulations. However, if you work hard and are

honest in your methods, success is guaranteed.

TCN: We have heard a lot about your writing skills, how did they help you in making the cut?

NP: Writing is an important skill that every lawyer must develop. Good writing is not achieved overnight. You

have to be well-read to be a good writer. Writing and reading are the fundamental tools for every lawyer. So I

would encourage everyone to never stop reading or writing! For a lawyer reading is as important as breathing! To

answer the question specifically, my writing skills helped me in my recruitment wherein I was given a long

questionnaire and had to answer several interesting questions which were not related to law.

TCN: What extracurricular activity, according to you, can be most broadening a learning experience?

NP: I feel mooting is a wonderful extracurricular activity. It prompts one to think independently and provides the

confidence to speak in public. Moreover, writing for journals is extremely important, which enables you to

become a better writer.

TCN: What are your suggestions for the final year batch to help them in their placements?

NP: To keep all options open and not to get disheartened by minor setbacks.

TCN: Thank you for sharing your experience with us.


Campus News

IGNITE 2015

University of Petroleum and Energy Studies organised the annual technical-management-legal fest, in

the month of February. The fest was organized from February 19 till February 21, 2015. The fest has a

synergy of technical, managerial and legal events together under one banner. In the course of three days

there were more than hundred events organised.

There were several legal competitions that were witnessed by a great turnout from colleges from all

over India amongst the likes of Faculty of Law, Delhi University and Panjab University. The College of

Legal Studies hosted seven national-level competitions. Following is an overview of the events:

Taking the research tradition forward, paper presentation competition was organized, wherein the

participants presented research papers on varied fields of law including papers that had conventional as

well as modern day approaches to law. The participants went through the abstract-selection process

before presenting the papers in front of audiences from various law schools across the nation. Many

legal luminaries judged the event.

We believe, spice of mooting lies in the trial, giving a platform to future trial advocates, the college

organized a Trial Advocacy Competition which saw brilliant turnouts from colleges across the nation.

Trial advocacy deals with the procedure and method followed in trial courts. The event includes,

students acting as witnesses to help their speakers make a better case. The event saw an overwhelming

participation.

Debating is an integral part of the CoLS culture, taking it forward on a new platform, Discussion Panel

of Indian States was held. The format of the debate facilitates discussions between the union and the

states on particular motions. The teams were allotted either Union-side or States-side through a draw.

The debate took place on the motion of the Union wanting to pass the General Sales Tax Act which the

States were not in favour of.

CoLS has a history of fostering the synergy between technology and law, taking clue from it,

TechnoLAWgy: The Law and Technology Society organized a few events which began with an aptitude

test comprising general questions from our routine lives. That was followed by a Group Discussion

Round which had topics on daily human affairs, a pinch of fun kept the topics apart from conventional

debating topics. Finally a Personal Interview Round to showcase the participant’s personality was held.


Of all the events Client Counselling had the biggest turnout. It is an in-chamber activity, in which, as the

name suggests, the lawyers counsel their clients. This event had students participating from many

national law schools. The event was a great success.

The most enjoyable event, however, was the UPES Youth Parliament. It was organized by the Literary

and Debating Society of the University. Youth Parliament featured three committees, the Lok Sabha, the

Rajya Sabha and the All India Party Meet (AIPM), dealing with different agenda’s over the course of

three days. The event was open for anyone who has interest in politics and has necessary oratory skills.

The event gave the participants a platform to exhibit their political acumen and rational decision-making

skills.

The fest concluded with the Legal Essay Writing Competition. It was held on the last day of the fest.

The event saw a turnout of intellectually best students ready to pen their thoughts on legal issues.

Ignite, a fine collection of many interesting and academically relevant events, was a great success. It

showed that we, by combining work with play can break the monotony that conventional learning has.

2nd

Novice Moot Court competition

The true merit of a law student lies in excelling in the art of advocacy. Mooting provides an opportunity

to invigorate the students with an environment to research and argue. Novice Moot Court has been

recently added to the repertoire of the CoLS moots. The Moot Court Association organized the 2nd

Novice Moot Court competition in February, 2015, aiming to help the 1st year students gain essential

mooting skills that law schools demand.

Immense involvement of the first year students was witnessed in the competition. The total of 31 teams

submitted their memorials, comprising the students of BBA LLB, BA LLB and B. Tech LLB. The event

was held over a period of three days. With the preliminary rounds held on the first and second day,

judged by experienced mooters, chosen from the 4th year and 5th year students. It was followed by the

semi-final rounds comprising of 8 teams.

The final round was conducted in the moot court hall, judged by Dr. Tabrez Ahmed. The finals

witnessed hard work and dynamism as both the teams left an emblematic impression on everyone. The

runner up trophy was bagged by the team of Aditya Dev Gaur, ManitLoomba and Tilhat Naz, while the

team of Devashish Jain, Akansha Saxena and Vasundhra Agarwal emerged victorious. Best speaker and

the Best Memorial award were awarded to Samanvi Narang and the team of Bhavya Upadhyay, Rashmi

Singh and Kanika respectively.


Student Achievements

The COLS sports fraternity made the college proud at the Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University

(RMLNLU), Lucknow with dominant performances in two events. The CoLS cricket and basketball

teams obtained top spots in strongly contested tournaments and brought home well-deserved accolades.

The cricket team proved their sporting might with an unbeaten run against all odds. The side captained

by Sahej Mahajan was dominant from the start and confidence was sky high. Suraj Bhalla was declared

the top scorer for the CoLS side. A couple of nervy finishes did occur every now and then. However, as

stated by the host, the UPES cricket team deserved every accolade they collected. In sum, CoLS beat

RMLNLU in their own ground, not letting RMNLU of any ‘home pitch advantage’!

Akin to the performance in cricket, UPES grabbed the top spot with relative ease in Basketball. Team-

UPES performed with calmness and stability under pressure. The basketball side was led by the deadly

duo Mohit and Himanshu of the III Year B.A., LL.B, who, previously too, united on a number of

occasions to take their side to the top

The College of Legal Studies did remarkable performances in Badminton and Gully Cricket as well.

Although the teams were not lucky enough to grab trophies, their efforts deserve a special mention.

The strength of COLS-UPES was certainly on display at RMLNLU, which ensures a bright future for

CoLS-sports.

Placement News

AZB & Partners recruited Arahant Jain.

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff &Co, Mumbai recruited Kush Saggi and Saumik P.

Batham.

Wadia Ghandy recruited Harshita Khurana and Ayush Srivastava.

PF Legal recruited Vedanta Yadav.

Roy Ghosh & Associates recruited Nilanjana Mukherjee.

H&Y Partners recruited Priyanka Srivastava.

Adv. Anurag Gupta, Civil Court Dehradun recruited Saksham Pradyot.

Adv. Naresh Sharma, Delhi High Court recruited Sukanya Thapliyal.

Chess Management Services Pvt. Ltd. Recruited Shruti Agrawal, Shume Banerjee, Aditya Tiwari and

Ravikant Deshmukh.

Luthra and Luthra Law offices recruited Tanmay Sadh.


Faculty Introductions

Prof. Tony George, LL.M. (Dalhousie), M.Phil. (NUJS), Ph.D. (Dalhousie)

At the start of his career, Prof. Tony George joined National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.

His research therein on water law was widely noted and has left a mark in environmental law

scholarship.

Later on, Prof. George joined the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal as Assistant Professor from where

he relocated to Canada to pursue his doctorate.

Prof. George is the author of From Ship Breaking to Sustainable Ship Recycling (Brill, 2010), Towards

Sustainable Coastal Development (Brill, 2014), Ballast Water and Aquatic Invasive Species, 19 Col. J.

Int’l Envt’l L. (2007), to name a few.

In CoLS he teaches International Commercial Arbitration, Jurisprudence, and Maritime Law.

Prof. Azim B. Pathan, LL.B., LL.M. (Nagpur)

Ph.D. (Nagpur)

Prof. Pathan started his academic career at

Department of Law, Nagpur University in the year

2008.

In 2009, Dr. Pathan joined Hidayatullah National

Law University (HNLU), Raipur (C.G.) and worked

in different capacities as a member for Editorial

Board of HNLU, Executive Member of HNLU

Journal.

Prof. Pathan has co-authored a book titled

“Biodiversity Law: National and International Legal

Regime” (CEHRRA, 2013).

He has published articles and papers in journals of

national repute. He is also a recipient of P.V.

Narshima Rao Memorial Gold Medal.

In College of Legal Studies, Dr. Pathan teaches

subject like Arbitration and Conciliation Law, Law

of Contracts and Legal Language & Legal Writing.

Ms. Pallavi Arora, LL.M.

A graduate from Ram Manohar Lohiya National

Law University, Lucknow and a post graduate in

criminal law. Pallavi Arora joined CoLS as

Assistant Professor of Law.

In choosing her career, Prof. Arora preferred

teaching job to a law firm work.

Ms. Arora has published her research in reputed

journals like, NALSAR Student Law Review,

NLIU Law Review and Journal of Indian Law and

Society on topics such as, hostile takeovers,

reforms in sexual offences, universality of human

rights etc. Her research interest lies in International

Criminal Law.

She is currently teaching Code of Civil Procedure

and Information Technology Law to the students

of CoLS.

cols newsletter jan-feb,2015

Education

cols proud

election disputes

faculty introductions

legal community

legal fest

moot courts

high courts

great pride