NALSAR University of Law is hosting the inaugural ‘Court & Constitution’ conference in collaboration with NALSAR and Azim Premji University on the Republic Day weekend in NALSAR, Hyderabad. 

2018 has been an eventful year for the Courts and the Constitution of India. The year opened with an unprecedented press conference by four senior judges of the Supreme Court followed by a controversy over the Chief Justice of India’s prerogative to allocate cases and the initiation of an impeachment motion against the then CJI in the Rajya Sabha.

The year witnessed controversies arising from the dilution of the protective provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the exclusion of more than 20 Lakh individuals from the National Register of Citizens in Assam, increased cases of mob-lynching and the relentless tussle between the Executive and Judiciary on the issue of appointments to the higher judiciary. The Apex Court had its opportune moments to adjudicate on crucial questions of rights and policy. Alongside the Court, the legislative sphere witnessed the enactment of several legislations and ordinances which are bound to have a considerable impact.

Through ‘The Court and the Constitution’ conference, we envisage an annual exercise of examining the major constitutional law developments of the preceding calendar year. The Conference is an attempt to bring together diverse voices from the bench, bar, academia and journalism to deliberate on the landmark legal developments of 2018 which are bound to have a long-term impact on governance and rights of the citizenry.

We have following speakers lined up for the conference, you may find the brochure at the bottom of this page, alternatively, you may click here:

26th January 2019

SETTING THE STAGE – WHY DO WE NEED A REVIEW EXERCISE?

• Moderator : Dr Faizan Mustafa | Vice Chancellor, NALSAR
• Ms Indira Jaising | Senior Advocate, Supreme Court
• Dr N. R. Madhava Menon | Founder VC, NLSIU and WBNUJS
• Justice G.R. Swaminathan | High Court of Madras
• Dr Sitharamam Kakarala | Professor, Azim Premji University
• Dr N. Vasanthi | Professor, NALSAR

PANEL I – INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS AT THE SUPREME COURT

• Moderator : Dr Arun Kumar Thiruvengadam | Professor, Azim Premji University
• Ms Indira Jaising | Senior Advocate, Supreme Court
• Dr Aparna Chandra | Assistant Professor, NLU Delhi
• Mr Alok Prasanna Kumar | Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Bangalore
• Mr Suhrith Parthasarathy | Advocate, High Court of Madras
• Ms Apurva Vishwanath | Journalist, New Delhi

PANEL II – DEVELOPMENTS IN EQUALITY JURISPRUDENCE (EMPHASIS ON GENDER AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION)

• Moderator : Ms Prerna Dhoop | Assistant Professor, NALSAR
• Mr Arvind Narrain | Founder, Alternative Law Forum
• Dr Sudhir Krishnawamy | Professor, Azim Premji University
• Ms Poongkhulali Balasubramanian | Advocate, High Court of Madras
• Mr Nizam Pasha | Advocate, Supreme Court

PUBLIC LECTURE BY DR ANUP SURENDRANATH ON ‘RETHINKING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: THE COURT’S ROLE AND RECORD’

• Moderator : Mr Neeraj Grover | Assistant Professor, Azim Premji University
• Discussant : Dr Murali Karanam | Assistant Professor, NALSAR
• Discussant : Mr Venkat Venkatesan | Senior Associate Editor, Frontline Magazine

27th January 2019

PANEL III – LAW AND RELIGION

• Moderator : Mr K. Vivek Reddy | Advocate, High Court of Telangana
• Dr Faizan Mustafa | Vice-Chancellor, NALSAR
• Mr Harish Narasappa | Co-Founder, DAKSH
• Dr Aparna Chandra | Assistant Professor, NLU Delhi
• Mr Nizam Pasha | Advocate, Supreme Court
• Mr Goutham Shivshanker | Advocate, Supreme Court

PANEL IV – DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND FEDERALISM

• Moderator : Dr N. Vasanthi | Professor, NALSAR
• Dr M.P. Singh | Professor Emeritus, NLU Delhi
• Mr K.V. Vishvanathan | Senior Advocate, Supreme Court
• Dr Anuj Bhuwania | Associate Professor, Ambedkar University Delhi
• Ms Malavika Prasad | Advocate & Ph.D. Candidate, NALSAR
• Mr Suchindran Baskar Narayan | Advocate, Supreme Court

PANEL V – PRIVACY, AADHAR AND DATA PROTECTION

• Moderator: Dr Sitharamam Kakarala | Professor, Azim Premji University
• Ms Ujwala Uppaluri | Advocate, Supreme Court
• Mr Apar Gupta | Advocate and Executive Director, Internet Freedom Foundation
• Mr Suhrith Parthasarathy | Advocate, High Court of Madras

PUBLIC LECTURE BY MR KAPIL SIBAL ON ‘THE SUPREME COURT IN TRANSITION’ FOLLOWED BY Q&A WITH AUDIENCE

KEY TAKEAWAYS AND PLANS FOR FUTURE EDITIONS

• Moderator : Mr Sidharth Chauhan | Assistant Professor, NALSAR
• Dr Arun Kumar Thiruvengadam | Professor, Azim Premji University
• Mr Vikram Raghavan | Law and Other Things

Registration

There are no registration fees and the event is open to the public, however accommodation will not be provided. You may RSVP at our Facebook Events Page.

Contact

For further information, please email us at: [email protected] with the subject – “Query: Courts and Constitution Conference 2019”.