Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur

The demand for the establishment of a National Law University was the oldest among all national level institutions like IIM, IIIT, AIIMS, and NIPER in Vidarbha which is considered as a backward region of Maharashtra.[15] Nagpur was the first to be tipped to get the State's First National Law University when its demand was endorsed by dignitaries which included Then-President Pratibha Patil, Chief Justice Mohit Shah and then Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan during High Court Bar Association's (HCBA) Platinum Jubilee celebrations in February 2011.[16] But due to some unidentified reasons, the proposal failed to move further. Ex-High Court Bar Association President Mr. Anil Mardikar first raised the demand on February 6, 2011 for an NLU in Nagpur.[17] But The Maharashtra Government shifted The Institute to Mumbai as revealed by then Minister Of State DP Sawant.[18] The High Court Bar Association of Nagpur and District Bar Association of Nagpur staged protests and even filed a PIL in Nagpur High Court against this move.[19] The Government was forced to allow the establishment of an NLU in Nagpur.[20] The Bill to govern NLUs was tabled in the Nagpur session of the assembly in 2013 for the first time.[21] The State Assembly passed the Maharashtra National Law University Act (Maharashtra Act No. VI of 2014) paving way for the establishment of The Institution.[22] The Chief Justice of India appointed Justice Sharad Bobde as the first Chancellor for MNLU Nagpur and District judge Dr. N.M Sakharkar was appointed as the Officer On Special Duty (OSD) and the Registrar of the university.[23]

The university has twenty-eight centres for advanced legal studies and research to address the socio-legal issues and challenges and to conduct research on thriving issues of law, social science and humanities. These centres offer courses, conduct seminars, conferences, and training programs for the identified target groups.[24]

The prominent research centres are[25]

1. Centre for Advanced Study in Criminal Law (CASCL)
2. Centre for Consumer Protection Laws and Advocacy (CCPLA)
3. Centre for Advanced Study in International Humanitarian Law (CASH)
4. Centre for Study in Agriculture Law and Economics (SALE)
5. Bureau of Information for Studies Abroad (BISA)
6. Directorate of Distance Education (DODE)
7. Centre for Advanced Studies in Human Rights (CASIHR)
8. Centre for Woman and Child Rights
9. Centre of Intellectual Property Law (IPR) [In collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organisation( WIPO)]
10. Centre for Legal Aid and Services
11. Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution

The university has inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with prominent law universities of the country for the purpose of academic collaboration that will encompass exchange of students and members of faculty between the two universities, etc. The university has inked MoUs and collaborations with the following institutions[26]

Justice Sharad Bobde, 47th Chief Justice of India, serves as the chancellor of the university.

1. National Law School of India University, Bangalore;
2. National Law University, Delhi;
3. Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab;
4. The Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Mumbai;
5. Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar;
6. National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam;
7. Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad.[27]

The university's library has physical copies of over 35,000 legal titles. It has received various donations prominently from Bombay High Court Library (Nagpur Bench) for its development. The university also has access to various physical and virtual legal databases.[28]

The university offers B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) Five-Year Integrated Degree Programme [120 seats], B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) in Adjudication and Justicing Five-Year Integrated Degree Programme [60 seats], B.B.A.L.L.B (Hons.) Five-Year Integrated Degree Programme [60 seats], One-Year LL.M. Postgraduate Degree Programme, Doctor of law (Ph.D.) Programme, Short-term diplomas and certificate courses in law[29] The university also hosts cultural fest sanskrotsav and annual Intra sport event sportacus.

1. MNLU Contemporary Law Review (CLR)
2. MNLU Student Law Review
3. MNLU Journal of Social Sciences
4. MNLU Journal on International Law
5. MNLU Journal on Taxation Laws
6. MNLU Journal on Arbitration
7. MNLU Journal of law and economics

The admissions to the university are done on merit ranking based on the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) of India which is a centralized test for admission to 21 National Law Universities in India. The eligibility is as per the CLAT Notification.[30] The acceptance rate is less than five percent with sixty thousand applicants applying for 120 seats as of 2018.[31]

A separate admission process including group discussion and personal interview is carried out for selecting students for The B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) in Adjudication and Justicing Programme which is a Five-Year Integrated Degree Course.

MNLU Nagpur is recognized by the Bar Council of India[32] and the University Grants Commission (UGC) as a state university.[33] The Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) serves as the governing institution of the university.[34]

Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Prize Recipient, 2014, serves as a member of the academic council of the university.[35]

MNLU is a member and has a technical association with[36]

1. Asian Law Institute (ASLI), Singapore
2. Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA)
3. Forum of South Asian Clinical Law Teachers (FSACLT), Goa
4. Indian Economic Association (IEA);
5. Indian Institute of Comparative Law (IICL), Jaipur
6. Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi
7. Indian Law Institute (ILI), New Delhi
8. Indian Political Science Association (IPSA)
9. Indian Society of Criminology (ISC), Madras;
10. Indian Society of International Law (ISIL), New Delhi
11. Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies (ICPS), New Delhi
12. International Association of Law Schools (IALS)
13. International Law Students Association (ILSA), USA
14. Legal Information Institute of India (LII of India)
15. Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI)
16. National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur
17. The Institute of Military Law, Nagpur

Hostel at the New Campus of MNLU-N

Basement at MNLU N

Hostels and Gymkhana

Glimpse of lawkriti 4.0

The Temporary Academic Block

The Governing Council of the university is as follows[37]

1. Hon’ble Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of India- Chancellor
2. Hon'ble Justice Pradeep Nandrajog, Chief Justice of High Court of Bombay- Pro-Chancellor
3. Prof. (Dr.) Vijender Kumar, Vice-Chancellor
4. Shri K.K. Venugopal, Attorney General of India
5. Hon’ble Justice B. R. Gavai, Judge, Supreme Court of India
6. Hon’ble Minister for Higher Education, State of Maharashtra
7. Hon’ble Minister for Law, State of Maharashtra
8. Advocate General of Maharashtra
9. Shri Jayant D. Jaibhave, Nominee of Bar Council of India
10. Chairman Bar Council of Maharashtra
11. Principal Secretary, Higher and Technical Education Department, Government of Maharashtra
12. Hon’ble Justice V S Sirpurkar, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India
13. Dr. Prakash Amte, Social Worker
14. Hon’ble Justice R. C. Chavan, Former Judge, Bombay High Court
15. Prof. (Dr.) Parmjit S. Jaswal, Vice-Chancellor, RGNUL Patiala, Punjab

The Temple of the Campus

The academic council of the university consists of the following-[38]

1. Prof.(Dr.) Vijender Kumar, Vice-Chancellor, NLU, Nagpur - Chairman
2. Dr Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, National Research Professor, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune
3. Shri Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation, New Delhi
4. Hon’ble Justice G. Raghuram, Former Judge, Andhra Pradesh High Court, Hyderabad
5. Nominee of the State Government of Maharashtra
6. Shri Manan Kumar Mishra, Sr. Advocate and chairman, Bar Council of India, New Delhi
7. Dr Himanshu Pandey, associate professor of law, Head Centre for Corporate Law and Governance, MNLU, Nagpur
8. Registrar, ex-officio Secretary

The university's main campus is under construction and is coming up at a cost of 750 crores sanctioned by the Government of Maharashtra.[39] The Ground-breaking ceremony for the campus was performed by Ranjan Gogoi, Chief Justice of India; Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra; Justice Sharad Bobde, Judge, Supreme court; Justice Bhushan Gavai, Supreme Court; Justice N V Ramana, Judge, Supreme Court; Justice Pradeep Nandrajog, Chief Justice of High Court of Bombay and Pro-Chancellor of the university, Vinod Tawde, Minister of Higher and Technical Education of Maharashtra; Sudhir Mungantiwar, Minister of Finance and Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Guardian Minister of Maharashtra[40][41]

The new building would be a completely green one with state-of-art facilities for students and staff with GRIHA Certification.[42] It would have a ‘Museum Of Law’ along with a health and wellness centre to help nearby villagers.[43] The campus will follow Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) norms. It will have solar panels to produce energy, and food would be cooked on it.[44] All classrooms will be embedded with information and communication technology.[45] The first phase of the construction has been done. Construction of the second and third phase of the campus is expected to complete to soon.[46]MNLU Nagpur is envisioned to have the most beautiful campus in the country.[47] MNLU Nagpur is expected to have the best in class infrastructure along with various amenities and facilities which include the country's first museum of law and a Hostel for the LGBT community.[48][49][50]

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