The National Law Institute University, Bhopal held its fourth Annual Convocation yesterday for the 66 students of B.A. LL.B. and 10 students of the LL.M. program who graduated in April 2011. The event was presided over by Hon'ble Justice Sushil Harkauli, the Chancellor who is also the Chairman-General Council of the University. The Chief Guest on the occasion was Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister, Ministry of Human Resource Development.

The function commenced at 5:15pm with the recital of the National Anthem and lighting of the lamp. S.S Singh, the NLIU Director rendered the welcome speech which enlisted the numerous achievements of the University in various fields in the past academic year. The Director also praised Mr. Kapil Sibal, affirming that due to overruling of the UGC Committee, all Law Universities and Colleges have been brought on an equal footing. After the brief prologue, on behalf of the Director, the convocation was declared open by the Chancellor, Hon’ble Justice Sushil Harkauli.

Degrees to the graduating students was conferred by the Chancellor. In addition to the students, the University also conferred a degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) to Justice J. S. Verma, former CJI of the Supreme Court in recognition for his invaluable contribution to law, society and justice.

Justice Shahcheendra Dwivedi Memorial Gold Medal and Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Gold Medal were awarded to Priyamvada Shukla of the graduating LLM batch. Deeksha Manchanda of the LLB batch bagged 2 Silvers and the Late Pratibha Dubey Memorial Gold Medal.  Vikas Jha of the LLB batch also bagged 2 Silvers and Pt. Ramjilal Sharma Memorial Gold Medal for the best academic score. 

In her interview to TOI, Deeksha Manchanda said, ‘I cannot express my happiness in words. It is a dream come true! Presently, I am practicing under a senior advocate in Supreme Court. I will later pursue law studies in UK.’

Speaking on the occasion Shri Kapil Sibal commenced his convocation address by stating to the graduating students that, 'You start tomorrow with great expectations. Education is never a solitary pursuit. Life is a long journey interspersed with dreams. A bend in the road is not the end. Perseverance pays in the end.' He stressed on the fact that there is a kind of anomaly with the status quo, since on one hand India is being heralded as a global power and on the other hand there is a sense of disquiet with respect to governance in the nation. A need for transparency has been acknowledged fiercely by the masses. In such a situation, he discussed the importance of concepts like Rule of Law and Doctrine of Separation of Power. The former is endorsed only if the citizens respect the government and the latter stresses how each institution of the state should be in harmonious existence with each other. 

He recognized the fact that politicians are being seen in dark light as 'power hungry' and 'self seeking' individuals with the disclosure of scams and corruption cases in the nation. He stressed how the right to allege and right to insinuate have almost become a part of Article 21 Right to Life and Liberty, emphasizing how the media should exercise its freedom of speech and expression in a responsible manner. He also pointed out that law students have a huge responsibility to fulfil in the future. In his address to the students, Mr. Sibal highlighted how globalisation has brought the legal profession into the eye of fierce competition and to see lawyers as rational and social engineers, is extremely important. He concluded his address by stating - 'Have no fear; you are now ready to show your mettle'.