Law School, BHU: A Complete Guide

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India, a land of saints, has always had a rich cultural heritage. It is known throughout the world for many reasons. One of the those reasons is the prevalence of its traditional universities. These universities add beauty to our already beautiful country. The Banaras Hindu University, more commonly called as BHU founded by Bharat Ratna, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviyaji, in the year 1916, is one such university. One of the most special things about this residential university is its geographical location. It is situated in what is regarded as the oldest city in India, Kashi. The Law School, or the Faculty of Law, at BHU was one of the earliest course taught at this university.

Type: Central University

Motto of Law School, BHU: Dharma sustains the whole universe, i.e. Dharma Vishwasya Jagatah Pratistha.

Dean at Law School, BHU: Prof. Rudra Prakash Rai

Website of Law School, BHU: http://www.bhu.ac.in/law/

The Vision of Law School, BHU:

• Dharma sustains the whole universe, i.e. Dharma Vishwasya Jagatah Pratistha.
• Law Graduates have to play a significant role in the preservation and promotion of cherished values of the society and in maintaining harmony in the society.
• If the concept of the Rule of Law is to be preserved and the law graduates are to play their roles as leaders in the society, they must be provided a system of legal education that will produce men skilled in providing legal prescription to the needs of present day India while also making law a tool of social engineering.

History of Law School, BHU:

Before the advent of the era of the 5-year integrated law course, the dominant law course in India was the traditional 3-year LL.B. course. The prestigious institute which is credited with the introduction of the three year LL.B. course and two year full time LL.M. program is none other than BHU. It is one of the earliest faculties set up in the university. The first ever session in 1921-22 was held in two classrooms borrowed from the Faculty of Arts. Most of the faculty members at the time were advocates who worked as part time teachers. The founder Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviyaji, along with many other notable personalities like Sir Rash Behari Ghosh and Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru have been the deans at this respected institute.

Infrastructure:

 It was only in the year 1967 that the Law School under the deanship of Prof. Anandjee got its current building because of the financial help provided to them by the Ford Foundation. The former Prime Minister of India, the late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri laid the foundation stone of this new building. The current building has the shape of English alphabet “H”, as a mark of respect to the Harvard Law School. The Law School comprises of many distinct wings, namely the academic wing,a faculty lounge,a lecture theatre, a seminar hall, a moot court hall, a classroom and a library.

Courses Offered:

The various courses offered by the BHU Law School are-

• LL.B. (Hons.) 3 years
• B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) 5 years
• Courses for Master of Laws (Full Time)
• Ph. D. (Full time)
• One year Post- Graduate Diploma Courses (part-time)

Faculty:

The school has one of the best faculty in terms of its teaching staffs. The professors are vastly experienced, skilled and have a deep knowledge and understanding about the subjects they teach.

Library:

The library is situated on first floor of the institute with a capacity to hold over hundred students at a single time. It contains around 80,000 books and more than 135 national and international journals. An open access system including a 24/7 e-resource access is provided to the students on-and-off the campus. Besides this, the university has a magnificent central library of its own known as Sayaji Rao Gaekwad Library which provides online and offline access to the students whenever they need.

Hostel Facility:

Being a residential university, BHU comprises of a number of hostels set up by various faculties for their students. Law School, BHU also provides hostel facilities to both it’s male and female students, separately.

Medical Facility:

Adequate medical facilities are provided to the students under the Chattra Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, which is a university student health welfare program provided free of cost, baring the expenditures on medicines, in Sir Sundar Lal Hospital. A separate building is established as a Student health Centre to address the medical demands of the students.

Sports Facility:

The university comprises of many playgrounds, courts, stadiums and athletic tracks. It also has a swimming pool and a mountaineering club among other sporting facilities in order to address the demands of students interested in sports.

Cultural Programmes:

The annual cultural festival of Law School, BHU goes by the name of Srijan. A wide range of events including competitions in music, dance, drama, debates, mimicry, poetry recitation etc. are held wherein various students participate. Winners of each category represent the Law School at the University level cultural fest known as Spandan. Many reputed personalities are invited every year to add to the beauty of the event.

Publications:

Law School, BHU has its own journal named The Banaras Law Journal (ISSN-0522-0815) containing various articles, case notes, book reviews etc. contributed by the legal fraternity. Besides this, the law school publishes its newsletter from time to time.

Legal Aid And Services Clinic:

Law School, BHU belongs to a small but prestigious group of only six universities in India which are credited to initiate clinical legal services. The Legal Aid and services Clinic is a constituent unit of Law School serving the society since 1977. The Clinic aims to provide free legal aid and services to the poor and weaker section of the society so as to achieve socio-economic justice. Free legal counseling is offered on all working days between 04:00 p.m. – 06:00 p.m. at the clinic set up in the college campus itself. The objective of the Clinic is to achieve our constitutional goals as enshrined under the Preamble of the Constitution of India.

The strong alumni of the Law School adds more glory to its already illustrious name. Who would not like to study in this Judges ki factory located in one of the most beautiful cities of India? Though not situated in a metropolitan city, the peace and warmth of Varanasi, largely due to the fact that it is situated at the banks of river Ganges, is a blessing as students can study in the peaceful and calm environment. An evening walk at the ghats of Varanasi makes one forget their troubles and pains, and rejuvenates those who want to clear their mind out for another day of Law School.