Events

VasudhaivaKutumbakam : Towards a Global Governance Order Centred on Humanism and Values and Principles of the Rule of Law and Anchored in Strong, Independent and Efficient Legal and Justice Systems | April 15-16, 2023 | India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

The Bar Association of India celebrated “Lawyers of India Day” on 3rd December, 2022 by felicitating and honouring eminent members of the Bar and legal academia.

3rd December happens to be the birthday of Dr. Rajendra Prasad the first President of the Republic of India and Chairperson of the Constituent Assembly. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, himself a lawyer of eminence, who quit his thriving practice to provide exemplary national leadership for freedom movement, had inaugurated the Bar Association of India on April 2, 1960 and had set out the tasks for the Association in his inaugural speech, which continues to inspire the Association.

The Chief Guest on the occasion was Hon'ble Ms. Justice Hima Kohli, Judge, Supreme Court of India.

The meeting was presided over by the Bar Association of India President, Shri Prashant Kumar and Welcome Address was given by Dr. Anindita Pujari, Hony. General Secretary, BAI who also conducted the event. Address was delivered by Shri Amarjit Singh Chandhiok, President-Elect, BAI and Concluding Remarks was given by Shri Uday Prakash Warunjikar, Vice President, BAI.

On this occasion the Lawyers’ of India Day Award - 2022 was conferred on the following distinguished lawyers and Academician:

• Shri Jaideep Gupta, Senior Advocate
• Shri J.P. Sengh, Senior Advocate
• Shri M.G. Ramachandran, Senior Advocate
• Shri Mohit Mathur, Senior Advocate
• Ms. Rachana Srivastava, Senior Advocate
• Prof. (Dr.) M.P. Singh, Chancellor, Central University, Haryana

Awardees for the year 2020 & 2021 were also felicitated since they were not felicitated in a physical ceremony due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Awardees for the Lawyers’ of India Day Award – 2020 are:

• Shri C.S. Vaidyanathan, Senior Advocate
• Ms. Pallavi Shroff, Managing Partner, SAM & Co.
• Shri S.K. Kapur, Senior Advocate
• Shri Udaya Holla, Senior Advocate
• Prof. (Dr.) Kamlesh P. Joshipura, Former Vice Chancellor, State Universities Gujarat

Awardees for the Lawyers’ of India Day Award – 2021 are:

• Shri Kapil Dev Sood, Senior Advocate
• Ms. Meenakshi Arora, Senior Advocate
• Shri Ranjit Kumar, Former Solicitor General of India
• Shri R. Venkataramani, Senior Advocate
• Prof. (Dr.) Dilip Ukey, Vice-Chancellor, Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai

The event ended with a Vote of Thanks by Shri Amarjit Singh Bedi, Joint General Secretary, BAI.

The Bar Association of India organized a Seminar on "Free Speech and Judiciary : Ensuring Independent and Fair Administration of Justice" on Saturday, 24th September, 2022 at Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

The seminar discussed the following timely and thought provoking issues:

• Balancing Judicial independence and accountability: should there be limits on the freedom of speech while dealing with the judiciary?
• Power of Contempt: a shield or a double-edged sword?
• Code of conduct for lawyers when commenting to media in cases they are appearing or are associated with
• Training the Media to Cover Court proceedings: Developing a Collaborative Effort

A galaxy speakers and experts from field of Law, Journalism and Media Institutes including Shri Shyam Divan, Shri Prashant Kumar, Shri Amarjit Singh Chandhiok, Shri B.V. Acharya, Shri S.S. Naganand, Shri Jaideep Gupta, Ms. Rachana Srivastava, Shri Mohan V. Katarki, Shri Aman Lekhi, Shri Rajiv Dutta, Shri Vikramjit Banerjee, Ms. Maninder Acharya, Shri (Col.) R. Balasubramanian, Ms. Menaka Guruswamy, Shri Uday Prakash Warunjikar, Shri Amarjit Singh Bedi, Shri Rohit Khanna (The Quint), Shri Arunachalam Vaidyanathan (NDTV), Prof. (Dr.) Pramod Kumar (IIMC), Shri P.V. Dinesh (LiveLaw) and Shri Yakesh Anand, spoke.

The Bar Association of India & Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad Campus jointly organized a National Consultative Workshop on ‘Rivers in Indian Law : Opportunities and Challenges for Legal Rights for Rivers in India’ on 22nd April, 2022 at New Delhi. The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India & Chairperson, National Green Tribunal was the Chief Guest on the said workshop. Prof. Aseem Prakash, Deputy Director, TISS and Dr. Anindita Pujari, Hony. General Secretary, BAI gave the Introductory Remarks. Shri Prashant Kumar, President, BAI, Shri Shyam Divan, Senior Advocate & Vice President, BAI and Shri Mohan V. Katarki, Senior Advocate & Vice President, BAI and & Vice President, BAI were the Expert Speakers and share their views and expertise. A presentation was also given by the members of TISS Project team on New Zealand and Columbia. Vote of Thanks given by Dr. Bibhu Prasad Nayak, Associate Professor, TISS Hyderabad.

The Bar Association of India organized a Seminar on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2021 on 3rd May, 2022 at Jacaranda Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi. Hon’ble Ms. Justice Indira Banerjee, Judge, Supreme Court of India inaugurated the seminar. The topics discussed during the meetings are - Unpacking the Data Protection Law, Who Watches the Watchers? Government Surveillance Powers, Impact of the PDP Act on Industry, Data Governance within the PDPB and Criminal Law and Privacy. The topics for the seminar given above was very timely and thought provoking and not only highlight the current problems and new challenges but also set the tone for the future agenda of Data Protection Law in India. Many experts spoke on the occasion including Mr. Prashant Kumar, President, BAI, Mr. Shyam Divan, Vice President, BAI, Dr. Pinky Anand, Vice President, BAI, Mr. Chander Uday Singh, Vice President, BAI, Mr. Rajiv Duta, Senior Advocate & Chairperson, BAI Senior Advocates Forum, Dr. Uday Prakash Warunjikar, Vice President, BAI, Mr. Yakesh Anand, Vice President, BAI, Dr. Anindita Pujari, Hony. General Secretary, BAI, Mr. Amarjit Singh Bedi, Vice President, BAI, Mr. Apar Gupta, Internet Freedom Foundation, Mr. Anand V., Public Interest Technologist, Cyber Security Advisor, Deep Start LLP, Ms. Ria Singh Sawhney, Advocate, Mr. Ashish Aggarwal, Head of Policy, NASSCOM, Ms. Shahana Chatterji, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Ms. Bagmisikha Puhan, Advocate, Ms. Anita Gurumurthy, Executive Director and Senior Fellow, IT for Change and Ms. Vrinda Bhandari, Advocate. BAI collaborated with LiveLaw for live reporting of the event and the event was supported by the Indian Law Foundation.

Mr. Uday Prakash Warunjikar, Vice President, the Bar Association of India had written a book on "The Gender Justice, Human Rights And P.C. & P.N.D.T. Act, 1994 – Critical Appraisal of Statutory And Judicial Perspectives". The Book was released by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Bhushan R. Gavai, Judge, Supreme Court of India and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Abhay S. Oka, Judge, Supreme Court of India on 17th May, 2022 at 5:00 PM at New Maharashtra Sadan, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Near Baroda House, New Delhi. On the said occasion Shri Prashant Kumar, President, BAI & Shri Shyam Divan, Vice President, BAI were speakers.

Mr. Prashant Kumar, President, Bar Association of India hosted a dinner on 19th May, 2022 in honor of All Governing Council Members and also hosted a dinner in honor of Professor Steve NGO, President & Executive Director, BEIHAI Asia International Arbitration Centre Pte Ltd., Singapore on 19th May, 2022. The Committee recorded its appreciation for the same. The Committee also appreciated the efforts taken by the President in taking permission form Government of India for using the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Logo.

All-Russian Non-Governmental Organization (Association of Lawyers of Russia) organized the X Saint Petersburg International Legal Forum on 9th June – 1st July, 2022 in which on behalf of the Bar Association of India its President Mr. Prashant Kumar participated on invitation and delivered his keynote speech.