Hyderabad: CJI NV Ramana favours more practical law courses

Hyderabad: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Sunday stressed on the need to introduce courses that are more practical. He said legal problems should not be considered in a theoretical manner.

Addressing the 18th annual convocation of Nalsar Law University, near here, he cautioned the graduating students that courtrooms are nothing like ones that are portrayed in movies or a moot court hall; rather they "will be cramped, dingy and the judge may not even have a fan".

"I observe that graduating students are accustomed to only considering legal problems in a theoretical manner. There is an urgent need to introduce courses which are more practical and allow students to interact with people and their issues at the grassroots level," CJ Ramana said. He expressed disappointment over a few students, who graduate from National Law Schools, being interested in joining litigation or taking up public causes, let alone practice at the district level. "It seems that there is a fascination to only practice in the Supreme Court and High Courts while completely ignoring the importance of trial courts," he observed.

He suggested to the law graduates to gain experience at the trial court level before moving on to practice at higher forums, such as High Court and the Supreme Court. This would help in reducing pendency before the trial courts; there is both a demand and the need for specialised lawyers, he emphasised.

The daughter of former minister and TPCC leader Mohd Ali Shabbir got a gold medal in cyber law.