NLU Uttarakhand: Supreme Court stays High Court orders

The establishment of NLU Uttarakhand appears to have hit yet another snag, with the Supreme Court staying orders passed by the Uttarakhand High Court pulling up the State government for its inaction on the issue..In June 2018, the Uttarakhand High Court had ordered the State government to ensure that NLU Uttarakhand starts functioning within three months. Additionally, the government was directed to raise construction for the University preferably in the Tarai area, including District Udham Singh Nagar, where government land measuring about 1800 acres was available..In October 2018, contempt petitions came to be filed for the State’s inaction in the matter. In those petitions, the response filed by the State government was found unsatisfactory by the High Court. The government sought time to file another response and later filed an application for extension of time to comply with the Court’s orders..Meanwhile, the government then decided to establish NLU Uttarakhand at Ranipokhari, located 50 km from Dehradun instead of Udham Singh Nagar, where the High Court had recommended its construction. The foundation stone was laid at the site by Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat earlier this year..Taking a dim view of this development, the High Court, in its March 29 order held,.“It is a matter of serious concern that the State Government should unilaterally decide on establishing the National Law University at Ranipokhari in Dehradun district, and thereby flout the direction of the Division Bench, in its order dated 19.06.2018, even without seeking review or a modification of the said order.”.The Court also highlighted the fact that no action has been taken by the State government in furtherance of its June 2018 order. Noting that the application for extension of time was filed only to avoid contempt action, the High Court dismissed the same..The State government then approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the orders passed by the High Court in June 2018 and March 2019..Before the Supreme Court, it was argued that it is not State government which is to run the University but the Governing Council, the Executive Council, the Academic Council and the Finance Committee. It was pointed out that the Chairman of the Governing Council was the Chancellor of the University, the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court. It was argued,.“the scheme of the Act contemplates that the State Government is merely required to notify the authorities contemplated under the Act which includes a “Governing Council”. After the constitution of the “Governing Council”, each and every step is to be taken by the said Council strictly in accordance with the Act.”.It was further contended that though it was not obliged to, the State government allocated funds from its budget to set up the University..On the question of choosing Ranipokhari as the location of NLU Uttarakhand in opposition to the High Court’s orders, it was contended that the National Law University of Uttarakhand Act, 2011 nowhere provides for the State government to consult or obtain any prior approval from any of the University authorities under the Act. In fact, it was argued that Dehradun would be a more suitable place for NLU Uttarakhand..“…out of the 21 NLUs already in the Country, only 7 are located at places where the High Court is situated and remaining 14 are either in the State Capitals or cities where the High Court is not located. Moreover setting up a NLU requires infrastructure to be in place. In this regard Dehradun scores much more points than Udham Singh Nagar in terms of it being ideally location with equal distance from Dehradun, Haridwar and Rishikesh, Good air connectivity with Jolly Grant Airport in vicinity, Nearby 2 multi speciality hospitals – AAIMS hospital and Himalayan hospital, Good railway connectivity from Dehradun and Haridwar, location on national highway, 10 acre green field campus, being Litigation free, Near to hotels for faculty, students and parents stay and Near to entertainment hubs at Dehradun, Haridwar and Rishikesh…”.After hearing the arguments, the Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta issued notice yesterday and stayed the operation of the two orders of the High Court..Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the State of Uttarakhand along with Deputy Advocate General Jitender Kumar Sethi..Read the Supreme Court order:.Read the Uttarakhand HC order dated March 29:.Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.