Legal Eagles to address the audience at the 4th Justice HR Khanna Memorial National Symposium

The Confederation of Alumni for National Law Universities Foundation (CAN Foundation), will be organizing the 4th Justice HR Khanna Memorial National Symposium virtually on July 6 this year, in collaboration with the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and the Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur (DNLU).

The Pre-Lunch Session is scheduled between 10:30 A.M. and 12:45 PM and  and the Post-Lunch Session will be held between 02:30 P.M. and 04:45 P.M.

The welcome address of the sessions will be delivered by Prof. Srikrishna Deva Rao, Vice Chancellor at NALSAR, Hyderabad & Prof. (Dr.) Manoj Kumar Sinha, Vice Chancellor of DNLU, Jabalpur. 

Prof. Rao is a leading academician in criminal law and is currently the Chairperson of the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Law. Likewise Prof. Sinha is a prominent legal scholar and administrator, advancing legal education and research at DNLU.

The First Session will be graced by the Chief Guest, Justice PV Sanjay Kumar (Judge, Supreme Court of India) who has had an extensive judicial career in various High Courts including tenure as Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court. His judgement regarding grant of protection to Myanmarese refugees who entered India illegally have been landmark toward development of the nation's jurisprudence regarding the issue. Before being elevated as a Judge he was a practising advocate in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and represented PSU’s like HPCL, IOCL, Government of Andhra Pradesh whilst practising there. 

Speaking along with Justice Kumar will be the Special Guest of the Session, Justice Sunita Agarwal (Chief Justice, High Court of Gujarat), who has had a distinguished career in the judiciary known also for her contributions to legal reform and justice administration. She is an alumnus of Awadh University and post her enrollment, practised at the Bar for 21 years before being elevated to the bench in 2011. Her judgement regarding the Kanpur Bar Association strike is a landmark judgement of the Allahabad High Court. Her quote in a judgement “Ancient Texts always open to Debate; It is the beauty of plurality our society practices”  while rejecting the PIL filed against the re-telecast of Vishnu Puran on the fact that it has alleged misrepresentation of Lord Vishnu showcases her legal acumen and understanding of social fabrics of our country.

Justice Kumar and Justice Agarwal will be initiating the discussion and delivering the keynote address on the topic “Contours Of The Basic Structure Of Our Constitution”. 

Thereafter, Senior Advocate Chander Uday Singh will be taking the deliberations forward, who is renowned for his expertise in constitutional law and jurisprudence of civil liberties. 

The Presiding Guest in the second session is Justice KV Viswanathan (Judge, Supreme Court of India) who is known for his contributions to key constitutional verdicts and will deliver the Keynote Address on the illuminating environmental theme of – “Perspectives of Legal Dimensions of Climate Change in the 21st Century”.

He was designated as a Senior Counsel by the full court of the Supreme Court of India in 2009 and also served as the Additional Solicitor General of India in the Supreme Court from the years 2013-14. He was elevated to the Bench recently in August 2023 from the Bar and poised to hold the highest constitutional seat of the Chief Justice of India in the year 2031 for a duration of almost a year. 

Along with Justice Viswanathan, Senior Counsel Madhavi Divan and V Giri will also be speaking.

Madhavi Divan is an eminent jurist and her writings have contributed significantly to legal literature and practice. She has also served as an Additional Solicitor General of India recently till 2023 for a period of around 3 years at the Supreme Court.

V Giri is a leading expert on constitutional laws. He previously served as a Judge of the Kerala High Court for a few years before resigning from the high constitutional offices to establish a distinctive practice in the Supreme Court of India.

The sessions will go live on July 6th, 2024 as per timings on the official YouTube channel of the CAN Foundation. The YouTube Links for the two sessions are mentioned below -

Session I (Live 10:30 A.M. onwards) - Pre-Lunch Session - Click here

Session II (Live 2:30 P.M. onwards) - Post-Lunch Session - Click here