NUJS Kolkata
NUJS Kolkata’s 2015 graduating batch has accepted 27 job offers across seven firms with a mix of 16 so-called Day Zero offers made after interviews on campus on April 16 and 11 pre-placement offers (PPOs) made after internships to students.
NUJS Kolkata qualified for the ELSA WTO Geneva Moot 2014 after winning its Asia Pacific Rounds at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, against Hong Kong university, on 3 March.
Bombay HC mandates cinemas to offer free online booking: Bombay HC asked the state government to issue a circular asking all movie theatres and multiplexes to set up their own websites for online booking of movie tickets without a convenience charge. A government resolution had already asked all theatres and multiplexes to do so, but they had outsourced it to websites like BookMyShow, which charge a convenience charge [PTI]
Lawyers soon to apply for ‘jailed interviews’ online: Delhi HC yesterday asked the city government to provide an online application facility for lawyers to get approval from jail authorities to interview their jailed clients. The court was hearing advocate Amit Sahni’s petition against the prison Director General’s 27 February order that restricted legal interviews with inmates to once in a week [PTI]
NUJS sexual harassment guidelines for interns ready: NUJS Kolkata’s draft guidelines on protection of interns from sexual harassment is reportedly ready and awaiting the nod of its executive council to finally come into force. The guidelines allow the submission of oral or written complaints by interns to the law school’s internal complaints committee, which will get 60 days to submit its report on the complaint [Indian Express]
Patna HC sacks 4th corrupt court officer: Patna HC in a full court meeting ordered compulsory retirement of a judicial officer against whom an allegation of taking a Rs 5 lakh bribe had been confirmed in an inquiry. The officer was originally to retire in 2019. This is the fourth case of stern action by the HC against its judicial officers this year. Earlier this year, Ajay Srivastava of Jehanabad was forcibly retired. Then three judicial officers were sacked for involvement in a sex scandal, and only a few days ago the SDJM of Sherghati in Gaya district, Ram Sajan was suspended for allegedly seeking sexual favours [TOI]
Delhi HC worried by shortage of public prosecutors: Delhi HC pulled up Delhi government over shortage of public prosecutors and non payment of fees to existing government lawyers, despite the large scale creation of new court buildings. The court was reportedly “surprised” that the government listed many restrictive conditions in its advertisements for public prosecutor posts, resulting in receiving very few applications [TOI]
Safety of IT women PIL: Asks for a law to regulate the safety of women working in the software and IT industries, filed by advocate KTS Sivakumar. Sivakumar asked for regulation of women employees’ working hours and “foolproof” security measures for those women who work night shifts [PTI]
NUJS Kolkata vice chancellor Ishwara Bhatt announced at the law school's convocation that its guidelines to protect of interns from sexual harassment would be published on its website soon, reported the Telegraph.
The report added that Bhatt promised that if an intern’s employer does not take action against a harasser on receiving a complaint of sexual harassment from the university, the university will “help the intern in a suitable way”.
The report stated that the policy follows sexual harassment allegations by former NUJS students against ex-Supreme Court Justice AK Ganguly, and "another Supreme Court judge", whose name the paper did not specify.
Newspapers reported in January that one of former Justice Swatanter Kumar's NUJS interns, while he was still a sitting judge, alleged that the judge sexually harassed her. Kumar has filed a defamation suit against several newspapers, which will next get heard on 19 May, obtaining a temporary and partial restriction on media reporting the allegations against him without also stating that they are mere allegations.
A Right to Information (RTI) response confirmed that the vice chancellor (VC) Prof Ishwara Bhatt claimed that he rejected interviewing an academic candidate via Skype because candidates would have to give a demonstration class, which has been contradicted by the former VC Prof MP Singh and college sources.
NUJS Kolkata students have been collecting evidence of possible administrative malfunctioning at the university...
Swatanter Kumar ex-intern PIL admitted: Former SC judge Swatanter Kumar’s ex-intern from NUJS Kolkata who had made sexual harassment allegations against him yesterday moved a petition in the SC for inquiry against him. The intern challenged the SC’s 5 December 2013 full court resolution that it could take no action against Kumar because he was now retired, although he was not at the time of making the allegation.
The intern is supported in her petition by additional solicitor general Indira Jaising, and advocates Kamini Jaiswal, Harish Salve and Vrinda Grover.
The Chief’s court agreed to take up the matter on 15 January [PTI]
NUJS intern sex harassment policy: NUJS Kolkata will, by next month, ready a policy to formally deal with complaints of sexual harassment by its students against anyone they intern with through the university. The law school will also sensitise students on how to deal with any incidence of sexual harassment during internships [Firstpost]
ML Sharma Legally India-CIA link petition dismissed: “ML Sharma [was upset] over @IJaising, @LegallyIndia & @kianganz in CJI's court accusing them of CIA funding for reporting [sexual harassment], Swantantar.” tweeted @JaskiratSB yesterday. Chief Justice of India Sathasivam declined to entertain Sharma’s writ petition, which sought action against the intern, “a website and a national daily” for publishing the “defamatory” allegation, reported the PTI.
NUJS Kolkata alumni have launched an online petition calling on the university’s chancellor to set up a review commission and inquire into, review and remedy falling standards of the law school.
Former Supreme Court Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly, who is also chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC), has quit as honorary professor at NUJS Kolkata, the alma mater of a former intern who accused him of sexual harassment.
Ganguly wrote, according to NDTV: “I voluntarily opt out, don't want to continue as a member of the guest facility and be a burden on NUJS.”
Yesterday the Union Government cabinet cleared the way for a presidential reference to remove Ganguly from his chairmanship of the WBHRC.
Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Altamas Kabir was proposed to become an honorary professor at the college in early December.
Shamnad Basheer, the ministry of HRD chair professor in intellectual property law at NUJS Kolkata, has resigned after losing trust in vice chancellor (VC) Prof Ishwara Bhat.
The police has arrested NUJS assistant registrar Siddhartha Guha, who has been dodging the police after an FIR was filed against him five months ago.
Twelve faculty members of NUJS Kolkata, the alma mater of the former student who accused retired Supreme Court judge AK Ganguly of sexual harassment during her internship a year ago, have issued a statement in her support.
NUJS Kolkata will appoint former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Altamas Kabir as an honorary professor by Monday, if no objections are received.
The revelation that former Supreme Court Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly is the judge alleged to be at the heart of the apex court’s sexual harassment inquiry, has split commentators along political and institutional lines.
Since the allegation early this month that a “recently-retired” Supreme Court judge sexually harassed at least one intern (“SJ”), print, online and TV media news have been reporting the story’s twists and turns avidly.
Lawyer myths: NLSIU Bangalore grad and Singapore’s Nanyang Tech B-school lecturer Krishna Udayasankar has penned down a mythological trilogy – the Aryavarta Chronicles. Interview by [Bangalore Mirror]
TOI didn’t defame: The Times of India is off the hook for criminal defamation after the Madras HC dismissed the Tamil Nadu government’s case against the paper for a 28 March news item exposing an irregular public auction. “The court taking cognizance of a complaint against the press must follow due diligence. Before taking a prima facie view, the news item should be analysed and an attempt should be made at least to indicate the basic reasons, which would attract the offence of defamation and as to whether the news item made a reference to the government or minister with an intention to defame or tarnish the image,” said the HC judge [TOI]
SC Tarun Chatterjee to UP HRC: Former Supreme Court justice Tarun Chatterjee has been appointed as the UP state human rights commission’s chairman [Jagran Post]
Dec 16 rape confirmation: The Delhi HC has begun confirmation hearings for the death sentence reference by the Saket trial court in the 16 December Delhi gang rape case [PTI]
Law school paycheques: ET reports breathlessly that national law schools have broken the business consultancy glass ceiling with Bain Capital creating its first legal position after hiring from NLSIU Bangalore this year – also the campus from where McKinsey and Deutsche Bank have made an offer each so far. At Nalsar Hyderabad, between 25 2014 graduates hired so far the average salary is, reportedly, Rs 14.5 lakh per annum, while the highest international pay package is 40,000 pounds. The average salary at NUJS Kolkata is Rs 9 lakh per annum – marginally up from last year
The prestigious Rhodes scholarship this year was won by NLSIU Bangalore graduate Raag Yadav and NUJS Kolkata alumnus Amba Kak, alongside three non-lawyers.
Dissenting member terms the majority finding of the committee ‘unreasonable and not acceptable’.