Legal Luminaries awarded at Lawyers of India Day celebrations

New Delhi’s India Habitat Centre on Sunday, witnessed the coming together of India’s most prolific lawyers to celebrate the second edition of the Lawyers of India Day, wherein eminent members of the Bar were felicitated for their contributions to India’s legal system..The event, organised by the Bar Association of India, coincided with the birth anniversary of India’s first President and lawyer by training, Dr. Rajendra Prasad..Former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Justice AP Shah, Attorney General for India KK Venugopal and President Emeritus of the Bar Association of India Fali Nariman graced the occasion as the guests of honour..While speaking about the event, President of the Bar Association of India Lalit Bhasin stated,.“I am delighted to be a part of the Bar Association of India, that has recognised some of the most respected senior luminaries of our legal community, today. All of them have well-known public standing, immense and extremely valuable experience of its working. These stalwarts in the field of law have always strived towards holistic development and growth of the legal community in India. The Indian legal community owes much to them.”.AG KK Venugopal, in his speech, discussed several issues that plague the Bar, including the problem of fake lawyers and fly by night law schools. He further stated that our country must also have continuing legal education for practicing lawyers and judges, which is the case in many western countries. He also emphasized the need for reforms in various processes related to the Bar Associations, including the elections..Appreciating the legal profession’s contribution, Justice AP Shah stated that,. “India’s legal community plays a very significant role in shaping some foremost reforms that transpire in the country.” .Justice Shah went on to assail the current political dispensation for what he described as an attack on the Constitution. He stated that anybody having a different opinion from the government is termed as an anti-national..He brought up the issue of mysterious deaths of intellectuals like Govind Pansare, MM Kalburgi, Narendra Dhabolkar and Gauri Lankesh, as also the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq. He also criticized the handling of the Padmavati issue and named other films that faced censorship, including Udta Punjab..He further stated that the country’s institutions, instead of fighting back, are buckling under pressure. He said that at times, the judiciary also passes certain orders that end up restricting the fundamental rights of the citizens..Justice Shah’s speech was followed by the award ceremony, wherein legal luminaries from across the country were honoured for their service to the legal profession..Senior Advocates BV Acharya, Murlidhar C Bhandare, Iqbal Chagla, Nilay Ananda Dutta, Naranarayan Gooptu, UR Lalit, Gopal Subramanium and MS Usgaocar and Advocate NK Anand were awarded. RN Jhunjhunwala of Khaitan & Co was also honoured for his service to legal profession..Prof. Mool Chand Sharma, who is also a Former Member of the Law Commission of India, was conferred with The Law Teacher Award at the event..Indian Advocate, the official journal of the Bar Association of India was also launched at the end of the event.