THE JOURNEY SO FAR  . . .

 We have entered into the fourth year of our establishment. The preceding three years have indeed been eventful. We had started virtually from the scratch in May 2006, and by now we have registered our presence as one of our country's most upcoming law schools”. This has certainly been a path breaking journey for us and perhaps for the educational history in the State of Punjab also. 

The year that passed was slightly different from the earlier ones. Our focus in the first year was to commence and complete the first academic session on time as we had started as late as in September 2006. Many things needed to be put in place, that is, commencing classes, devising course curriculum, adjusting students in their respective hostels, making arrangements for their transport, creating library facilities and other necessary infrastructure, appointing teaching and non-teaching staff, and providing them the required leadership and guidance and so forth. Besides laying emphasis on class room teaching. Our priority was to organize a couple of events also to give the much needed exposure to our students in actual hands-on-skills.  

Going down the memory lane, I can list a number of events that were organized on our campus in the very first year. These, inter alia, include: Organisation of Legal Literacy Day, One Day Workshop on International Humanitarian Law and Two International Moot Court Competitions, that is, LAWASIA Moot Competition and the Commonwealth Moot Competition. Timely approval by the Bar Council of India (BCI) and recognition by the University Grants Commission (UGC) New Delhi under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956 enabled us to move fast in the right direction. 

In the second year (2007), besides running the B.A.,LL.B. (Hons.) Five Year Integrated Course, we also started Post-Graduation Course (LL.M.) in Law. In addition, we also started certain Research Degree Programmes, that is, Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in Law, Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Law as well as Ph.D. in Social Sciences with Law and Doctorate in Law (LL.D). In this year a number of appointments were made both of the teaching and of the non-teaching staff. By the second year only, almost all our statutory bodies, that is, the Academic Council, the Executive Council, the General Council, the Academic Planning Board and the Finance Committee etc. were duly constituted. A number of UGC NET Qualified candidates were recruited on the teaching faculty. We also established a few Centres of Excellence. These inter alia, include: Centre for Advanced Study in Criminal Law (CASCL); Centre for Consumer Protection Law and Advocacy (CCPLA); Centre for Advance Study in International Humanitarian Law (CASH); School of Agricultural Law and Economics (SALE); RGNUL Institute for Competitive Examination (RICE) and Bureau of Information for Study Abroad (BISA). In this year, too, we organized a number of events that brought us name and fame (on the national and international level). Prominent among these were the National Seminar on Family Law. Problems and Perspectives, wherein two Hon'ble Judges of the Supreme Court of India, Chief Minister Punjab, Hon'ble the Chief Justice and a number of Hon'ble Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court respectively participated. By now our students had also started showing keen interest in attending and participating in conferences, seminars, workshops and moot competitions both on the national as well as on the international levels and as a result of their whole hearted participation they brought us a number of laurels. While we were (as we are till now) functioning from our interim location Mohindra Kothi, The Mall, Patiala, the benevolent Panchyat of village Sidhuwal in Patiala District came forward to donate us a piece of fifty acres of land for the establishment of a new university. A magnificent building is coming up on that land which has primarily been possible due to the dedicated and sincere efforts put in by our Construction Wing, so ably governed and guided by our able and experienced technical advisors namely Er. Harashok Sharma, Chief Engineer, Punjab (Retd.) and Ar. Ambrish Gupta Chief Architect Punjab (Retd.) and to our highly competent architects Messrs Kothari Associates, New Delhi.  

The third year of our establishment (2008), too, like the earlier two years, has indeed been remarkably eventful. It was in this year that we joined the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) and attracted talented students from every nook and corner of the country thereby adding to the already existing cosmopolitan culture on the campus as well as in the hostels. At the same time we added another feather to our cap by way of getting recognition by the UGC under Section 12(B) of the UGC Act, 1956 which has enabled us to seek financial grant from the apex funding agency for our various plans. Besides, we have also been able to draft (devise) an excellent and an exhaustive course curriculum for the all ten semesters of the B.A.,LL.B (Hons.) FYIC as well as for the LL.M. Courses respectively for which we have taken valuable inputs from some of the most distinguished legal educationists, scholars, law and social science teachers and legal luminaries from within and outside the country. We have also been able to put our Internship Policy in place by establishing the Internship-cum-Placement Cell at our campus. Our students have also made us feel proud by way of securing internships and placements in various prominent places like the Law Commission of India as well as with the top law firms and senior advocates practising in the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts across the country.   

All this could not have been possible but for the invaluable guidance, patronage and support that we have been so fortunate to receive from Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Chief Justice of India, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ashok Bhan, Judge Supreme Court of India (Retd.) and President National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Hon'ble Mr. Justice D.K. Jain, Judge, Supreme Court of India, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Vijender Jain, Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court (Retd.), and from a number of senior officers and functionaries of the Government of Punjab. 

The keen interest shown by our worthy Chancellor Hon'ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur as well as by Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.M. Kumar and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rajive Bhalla, Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and members of the General Council of the RGNUL has enabled us to move in the direction of attaining excellence in the field of legal education.  

My esteemed colleague Professor (Dr.) G.I.S. Sandhu who is currently shouldering the enormous responsibility as the Registrar as well, and all my colleagues deserve mentioning here because of the tremendous hard work and sincere and selfless efforts put in by them in brining this university at par with the leading law universities in the country.  

We have a long way ahead. We have still a long and arduous journey to undertake. We have a broad vision. We are a team of articulate, committed, devoted, dedicated and thoroughly professional people who are ready to help our students fulfill their dreams by taking paternalistic interest in them as well as by guiding them to the right course in their life.  

I would, like to welcome the new batch of students to our university. We shall do our very best to turn your dreams into reality during the next five years. You are most welcome to join us in our quest for excellence and perfection in legal education and research.

Professor (Dr.) Gurjeet Singh
Vice-Chancellor