Explain apathy to National Law University: High Court to Jharkhand

NEW DELHI: The Jharkhand High Court has pulled up the state government for neglecting National University of Study and Research in Law (NUSRL) Ranchi, by not providing funding. The court has summoned the chief secretary and other officials on March 6 to explain the government’s inaction.

A division bench of the Chief Justice Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad while hearing public interest litigation (PIL), made strong remarks and said that the court was unable to understand the government’s apathy towards the premier law institution.

Kesava Rao Vurrakula, Vice-Chancellor, told Careers360 said that a PIL was filed in the High Court which came up for hearing on February 28. During the hearing, judges said: “Government should shut down the varsity if it doesn’t want to run it.”

No funds for 10 years

The state government did not provide any funding to the university since its inception, except for the initial Rs 50 crore. It clarified in court that it had sanctioned a one-time grant of Rs 50 crore to the university, which was given. It further stated that as per the State Cabinet’s decision, the government would not make any further grant to the university. Rao talking about the financial burden on the university said: “The CPWD [Central Public Works Department] claims that the university owes it Rs 90 crore for the infrastructure, and the state has to make that payment. While the government is saying that this was the one time grant which was given to the university and they can't give anything more.”

Rao said that the university has been surviving solely on the fees charged from students for 10 years, as it does not have any other source of income. He said: "The university is functioning smoothly. The only problem we have is that of funding and for that we are negotiating with the government. We are very positive that the state government will give funding."

The high court has summoned the chief secretary and secretaries of finance and building construction departments on March 6, the next date of hearing.

While hearing the PIL, the court said that as per the NUSRL Act, the Jharkhand government along with the Bar Council and other bodies have the onus of providing financial aid to the law university.

As reported by Hindustan Times the court observed, “The government can’t deny from extending financial support to the institution university. Worse, it charges electricity bill from the institution for the street lights which the government had set up on the varsity campus and adjoining areas. The government can behave like this with such a reputed institution.”

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