Addressing the gathering: Justice P N Prakash, DGP Shri Ashok Juneja, VC of HNLU Prof. (Dr.) V.C. Vivekanandan, and Registrar of HNLU Dr. Vipan Kumar.
TFP Bureau, Raipur, May 30, 2024: The Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU) and Chhattisgarh Police successfully concluded the second edition of their capacity building programme on new criminal laws with a three-day deliberation from May 27th to May 29th, 2024. The programme commenced with an Inaugural Session on May 27th, featuring Hon’ble Justice P N Prakash, former Judge of the High Court from Chennai, as the Chief Guest, and Prof Ranbir Singh, former Chairperson of the drafting committee of the New Criminal Laws and Distinguished Jurist Professor at HNLU, as the Guest of Honour.
In his opening remarks, Prof. V.C. Vivekanandan, Vice Chancellor of HNLU, emphasized the draft’s focus on electronic evidence for transparency and accountability, highlighting the need for operational adjustments based on implementation experiences.
Guest of Honour, Prof. (Dr.) Ranbir Singh, stressed the necessity for changes in criminal law and the evolving role of enforcement officials as both technocrats and socially sensitive agents.
Justice P N Prakash highlighted the importance of collaboration between national law universities and police forces, acknowledging initial enforcement challenges and commending the comprehensive structure of the training programme.
Shri Ashok Juneja (IPS), Director General of Police, Chhattisgarh, welcomed participants, acknowledging the Ministry of Home Affairs’ recognition of the joint efforts by Chhattisgarh Police and HNLU.
The second phase of the event, attended by Deputy Inspector Generals (DIGs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs), will be followed by a third phase, consisting of training sessions for six batches of police personnel through five-day modules. The initiative aims to train approximately 1000 senior police officers as master trainers and is coordinated by HNLU’s Centre for Comparative Law and Centre for Law and Forensics. Dr. Pankaj Umbarkar and Mr. Abhinav K Shukla, faculty members of HNLU, serve as convenors.
The three-day program featured distinguished speakers such as Justice P N Prakash; Dr. Neeraj Tiwari, Assistant Professor at National Law University, Delhi; Mr. Raghavendra Srivatsa, Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court; Mr. Srinivasa Rao, Senior Partner at Haranahalli Law Partners, Bengaluru; and Mr. Amit Pai, Advocate on Record at the Supreme Court. The Valediction of the programme was held on May 29th, 2024.
