Law School Money: Accounts of NUALS, Kochi Revealed

Matching its steps with the current trend of information revolution, Stripped Law brings to you Law School Money, an exclusive feature offering insight into the accounts of law schools. Confidentiality just got a new cheat code! In the first link of this feature, we bring to you NUALS accounts information. 

Three RTIs were filed by Stripped Law founder Raghul Sudheesh regarding the accounts of the funds/grants/aids received by the National University of Advanced Studies for the past nine years, the expenditure on the travels of the Vice Chancellor and the expenditure on the fifth convocation.

The institution claimed to have received a grand total of Rs. 8,20,00,000 from the government agencies including the Kerala Government and the University Grants Commission. The grants received from other private agencies totalled to Rs. 63,28,751. While the list of the private funds received seems to be self explanatory, the utilization details of the grants received from the government agencies has been provided. 

The major chunk of these grants (approximately 7 crores) seems to have been spent towards infrastructure development. The Rs. 1,70,000 grant from the Kerala Government has been solely directed towards the development of the library.  (See Tables 1-6)

In addition, information was also sought regarding the expenses incurred by the University for all the Trips and travel of Vice-Chancellor of NUALS for the past two years, i.e. 2010-2012. Details of the expenses incurred on the fifth annual convocation of NUALS this year were also sought. Refer to tables 7-8 for details that were received in reply for the same

For further editions of this feature, we request the readers to send in their queries regarding any financial irregularities in Law Schools at raghulsudheesh@gmail.com. Leave the rest to us! 

Table 1: The Grants Received from the Government Agencies

Period	Agency	Amount Received
2010-11	Government of Kerala: Plant Grant	1,00,00,000
2010-11	Government of Kerala: Plant Grant (Modernization of the Library received on 31/03/2011)	1,70,00,000
2011-12	Government of Kerala Plant Grant	3,00,00,000
2011-12	University Grants Commission	2,50,00,000

GRAND TOTAL

8,20,00,000

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Table 2: The Grants Received from the Government Agencies

Period	Agency	Amount Received
2006-07	Endowments- CK Sivasankara Panicker Endowment	1,00,000
2006-07	Legal Aid Program: Funds from NALSA	1,00,000
2007-08	Share of expenses received from Surana & Surana, Chennai for the conduct of National Trial Advocacy Competition	50,000
2007-08	Stetson Moot Court Competition- Financial Assistance for team members to participate in the finals	50,000
2007-08	Endowments- VR Krishna Iyer National Foundation for Law and Social Justice Endowment	1,00,000
2007-08	Legal Aid Program- Funds from KELSA	2,000
2008-09	Share of expenses received from Surana & Surana, Chennai for the conduct of National Trial Advocacy Competition	99,326
2009-10	Share of expenses received from Surana & Surana, Chennai for the conduct of National Trial Advocacy Competition	75,928
2009-10	Financial assistance from BPRD, Delhi for Police Training Programme	1,20,000
2010-11	Share of expenses received from Surana & Surana, Chennai for the conduct of National Trial Advocacy Competition	75,651
2010-11	Stetson Moot Court Competition- Contributions received from the Bar Council of Kerala to meet travel expenses of the team members	22,500
2010-11	Financial assistance received from Kerala State Planning Board for conducting seminar for Emigration Act (Balance Amount of Rs. 59,347 has been refunded after settling the expenditures)	1,00,000
2010-11	Financial assistance from BPRD, Delhi for Police Training Programme	45,702
2010-11	Endowments –NUALS – TR Raman Pillai Memorial Endowment	1,00,000
2011-12	Share of expenses received from Surana & Surana, Chennai for the conduct of National Trial Advocacy Competition	77,644
2011-12	Share of expenses received from Surana & Surana, Chennai for the conduct of Philip C Jessup Moot Court Competition	1,00,000
2011-12	Endowments – NUALS- MK Nambiar Endowment	50,00,000
2011-12	Grants under Erudite Scholar Scheme received from the Kerala State Higher Education Council	2,00,000
	GRAND TOTAL	63,28,751

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Table 3: Utilization- Plan Grant from Government of Kerala

Particulars	Amount
Campus Development	89,00,000
Riso Digital Copier	1,78,488
Audio Visual Equipments for Seminar Hall (Payment Made during the financial year 2011-12)	98,000
LCD & DLP Projectors	2,35,248
Desktop Computers	1,12,124
Books including Halsbury’s Laws of India (Complete Set)	3,21,520
Library furniture and accessories	1,56,894
GRAND TOTAL	1, 00,02,274

Table 4: Utilization: Plan Grant from the Government of Kerala

Particulars Received during  FY 2011-12	Amount Granted (in Rs.)	Amount Spent Under Planned Schemes (in Rs.)	Expenditure incurred in excess (in Rs.)
Buildings and Furniture	2,25,00,000	2,25,00,206	-206
Moot Court Hall	10,00,000	10,03,761	-3,761
Seminar Hall	25,00,000	25,01,037	-1,037
Centres	40,00,000	40,05,522	-5,522
GRAND TOTAL	3,00,00,000	3,00,10,526	-10,526

Table 5: Utilization: Plan Grant from the Government of Kerala for upgradation of Library

Particulars Received during the FY 2010-11 and Utilised during the FY 2011-12	Amount Granted (In Rs.)	Amount Spent (In Rs.)	Balance to be spent (In Rs.)
Library Buildings	1,35,00,000	1,35,00,000	0
Library Books, Journals and Racks	30,00,000	30,02,314	-2,314
Automation	5,00,000	5,02,392	-2,392
GRAND TOTAL	1,70,00,000	1,70,04,706	-4,706

Table 6: Utilization: Grant from the UGC

Particulars	Amount Granted	Amount Spent	Balance to be spent
Building	2,50,00,000	2,50,00,000	0

Table 7: Expenses of the Vice Chancellor of NUALS for his trips and travels

Period	Expenses for Travel including Air, Rail and Road	Expenses for Room Rent	Expenses for food and beverages	Expenses for Alcoholic Beverages	Expenses for diesel/ petrol for official vehicle
2010-2011	Taxi charges New Delhi on 21/02/ 11 Rs. 2,246.00/- Flight charges Rs. 17,795.00/-	Nil	Nil	Nil	Rs. 84,229.00/-
2011-2012	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	Rs. 99,270/-

Table 8: Expenses of the fifth Convocation of NUALS in 2012

Particulars	Amount
Panthal  (Agency: M/s. Bharatha Trading Company, Paliimukku)	Rs. 60,000
Food Expenses	Rs. 18,909
Printing of Invitation Cards	Rs. 6,000
Incidental Expenses	Rs. 87,766
Grand Total	Rs. 1,72,675

image from here

Over Moderation of the Internet: Is Journalism leading to a State of Oligarchy?

You read news, you feel for it, you grumble to yourself and keep the newspaper aside. This whole scenario seems to belong to the dark ages now. Journalism is no longer a one way process. If you have the news, we have our comments. The “blogging revolution” as they call it, along with the loosened identity limitations has enabled the people to have a more free flowing discussion. The option of anonymity makes them say a little more that what they would ordinarily have said. 

But does this two-way process really facilitate a free flow of conversation? Well, a basic glance at your facebook and twitter wall will prove that not all thoughts documented by these online platforms are worth it. Many sensitive issues witness disrespectful and abusive comments which put the utility of such a system to waste. Pouring oneself out cannot always have an intelligent edge to it. 

This extra freedom of expressing yourselves sometimes crosses the boundaries of civility and respect. That is what makes moderation necessary. However, using moderation to mould the conversation rather than just cleaning it up is what does not seem to be a fair deal. 

In the current developing phase of online journalism, there have been a lot of instances where the journalists, bound by protocols and ethics really cannot bring out the prima facie story, and all we get at the end is the over cleaned up version. Meanwhile, the anonymous commenting serves as a tool for the readers and sometimes brings out the real X factor behind a news piece. However, the over-extension of the “safe play” by the moderators, ends up giving us only what they want us to know and not what really is the true story. Of course moderating has its own significance in preventing the discussion from turning into a chaos of personal attacks. What plays an important role here is the editor’s prudence in deciding what can lead to a productive discussion while what can be the source of chaos. 

However, this prudence can sometimes get affected and sometimes over stimulated by some undesirable factors. Many instances of such kind have been occurring in the field of legal journalism too. The political influences play a game of bureaucracy and affect the working ambit of journalism and the field which is supposed to be free and unbiased unwittingly ends up being a forced instrument of the whims of certain high end people. 

The instances are many, be it banning of cartoons to “protect” the already dark face of politics or the moderation on comments on the relatively smaller forums like the online portals. 

While on the face of it, it may not seem that big a deal. However, this really is affecting the process of formation of public opinion at large. Today when you read a news piece online, often the comments prove as informative if not more as the news itself. Let me give an example here. I recently read a news piece on the candidacy of Narendra Modi as the PrimeMinister. On the two-page post, there were around 400 comments posted by the readers. I must say, the post would have been incapable of creating the impact it did if it weren't for some of the well written comments. There were comments against the political leaders, political parties and even against the portal itself. However, barring a few unnecessary ramblings, the whole discussion was made comprehensive by the reactions of the readers. The informal way, the straight forward approach were a few other things which made the comments an effective and useful extension to the main story.

Rick Conrad, web editor for the Halifax’s Chronicle Herald aptly illustrates the importance of hearing out the other side. According to him, “We’re kind of isolated in here sometimes in how we approach stories and it’s really interesting to see what real people think, because for all intents and purposes, journalists aren't real people in a way.” Although he stresses on moderating “reactionary” content, however, giving the two way traffic an unnecessary u-turn can eventually jeopardize the very objective of the exercise.

As such, while readers should understand their responsibility of realizing the best potential of such online portals to raise the pressing issues and bring forward alternative dimensions of the, it is also for the editors to understand their part. Journalism is all about bringing out information and making the masses aware. The journalists should understand its democratic essence and should protect it from being impaired on the whims and fancies certain oligarchs. It is understandable that standing against the high end power houses is not an easy task. But that is where the online instruments come handy. As such, what is needed is to use the modern tools to beat the political limitations and enable the readers to realize their power, rather than playing dummies as the hands of the pseudo white collared in their desperate attempts to hide the dirt.

image from here

CLAT Secretariat ‘a closed chapter’ says the CLAT Core Committee; Now all hopes on Delhi HC petition

The CLAT Core Committee 2012 in its first meeting at NLU Jodhpur held during October 1-2, 2011 had dropped the idea of establishment of a CLAT Secretariat. Earlier, this issue was raised in the meeting of CLAT 2011 held on September 21, 2012; however, no decision was reached regarding this.

The CLAT Secretariat, once established, would receive the funds/application fee for conducting CLAT. Under the current setup, the fund is channelled directly to the university conducting CLAT. While the organizing University utilize the funds it receives as application fee for conducting CLAT, the rest is to be retained by the said university. If the establishment of the CLAT Secretariat is approved, the Universities subsequently conducting CLAT would no longer be financially benefitted from the conduct of CLAT.

In response to the RTI application filed by me, asking for the minutes of the meetings of the CLAT core committee, an exclusive copy of the minutes of the first Core Committee meeting held on 1^st-2^nd October 2011 was obtained by me. The document indicated a unanimous disapproval of the proposal. Although no apparent reason for such a strong negative response has been stated. The minutes clearly state that this “chapter be treated closed”, although, the reason behind such a closure was not made clear. Given below is the extract from the document:

“It was pointed out that in the meeting of CLAT 2011 held on 21.09.2011 at WBNUJS Kolkata; there was no decision with respect to agreement of establishing CLAT secretariat. Members were of the view that the said minutes needs no confirmation. The CLAT Core Committee discussed the idea of establishment of CLAT Secretariat and unanimously disapproved. The chapter be treated as closed.”

Besides this, the response to the RTI application was a delayed one and was received a week past the limitation period of thirty days. The application, as tracked on the India Post website, was received by the NLU Jodhpur authorities on 30^th April 2012. While the document sent in response portrays the date of 31^st may 2012, which is still one day late, the postal tracking facility on the India Post website reveals the sending date as 7^th June 2012, about a week later than the deadline of 30^th May 2012, in accordance with the RTI Act 2005. Strangely enough though, the Demand Draft of Rs. 10 attached to the application as the fee for asking for information under RTI Act 2005 was sent back instead of being retained by the NLU Jodhpur authorities. Further as per the RTI Act, a reply provided by the Public Information Officer should also include details of the appellate authority and time period for filing appeal; this was also not complied with. All this questions the awareness of the NLU-J administration with regard to the rules governing RTIs as per the RTI Act 2005.

Moreover, the information asked was not completely provided. According to the application the information asked included the minutes of all the meetings of the CLAT Core Committee 2012 that have taken place till date. However, the information sent in response included only the minutes of the first meeting held in October 2011.

In addition, another RTI was also filed by me regarding the expenses of the first core committee meeting. The figures revealed by the information which was sent in response to this application are as follows:

	Travel	Room Rent	Food and Beverages	Alcoholic Beverages	Grand Total
Per Person	Rs. 21,808	Rs. 5,154	Rs. 4,523	Nil
Total Expenses	Rs. 3, 48,928	Rs. 82,464	Rs. 72,368	Nil	Rs. 5,03,760

As such, while meetings costing Rs. 5 Lacks each have resulted in nothing but fiascos increasing by the day, may be cutting down in the expenses of the same would have facilitated scholarships for some students like Donnie whose entire tuition fee of his 5 year law course at GNLU could have financed from a part of the aforementioned expenses.

Now all hope for the establishment of a permanent CLAT body lies in the Delhi High Court petition.


NB:I would like to thank Aditi Choudhary from NUJS, Kolkata for her inputs on this post.

Minutes of the first meeting of CLAT Core Committee 2012 Expenses of first CLAT Core Committee Meeting 2012

Law Firms and Advertisements: Wake up please, Bar Council of India!

It is a hotly contested matter today whether legal practitioners should be allowed to advertise their profession. While those who favour the proposition say that there is nothing wrong with displaying your achievements and employing creative ad agencies to boost your image in the media, many (including the custodian of legal practice in this country, the Bar Council of India) still believe that Law is a noble profession that must not be tainted by commercialisation.

The BCI regulations mandate that practitioners of law in India must not advertise or solicit either directly or indirectly through the media. There has been a recent amendment to these rules, wherein law firms are allowed to set up websites. However, these websites must only contain only “basic information about the names and number of lawyers in a law firm, the contact details and areas of practice”.

On visiting the websites of over 100 top law firms, I have found that unless the words ‘basic information’ is interpreted extremely liberally, several of the firms are in blatant violation of the law. The screen-shots of the violations are available with me.

Most law firms’ websites go beyond providing names and numbers of the lawyers, by including their CVs, complete with professionally-taken photographs. The websites mention the areas of practice of the firm, but go much further than that by using colourful wording to emphasise the skill, ability and efficiency of their lawyers in each area of law. Perhaps the forerunner in advertising its lawyers is top law firm ALMT, which apart from providing ‘basic’ information, has biographies of each of its partners, often running into hundreds of words. Lakshmi Kumaran & Sridharan has a searchable database of all its lawyers, and also showcases elaborate biographies and professional photographs of them.

Many of the firms, like DSK Legal, Luthra & Luthra and OP Khaitan and Co. also devote prominent space in the home-page to displaying the various awards that they have won.  On the website of Nishith Desai Associates, each listing in the ‘Areas of expertise’ column opens into a new tab, where a PDF called ‘Statement of Capabilites’ is displayed. It elaborates on the experience and achievements of the firm, using typical advertisement jargon such as ‘customised to meet client needs’, ‘ incorporate best global practices’, ‘we adopt a 360-degree approach’, etc. Out of the 5-page PDF that is displayed for each area of law, only the last half of the last page is adherent to the law, as it mentions the names and contact details of the lawyers.

This is not limited to Nishith Desai alone. Firms like Fox Mandal and DSK Legal have downloadable PDF brochures available on the site, which squarely fall under the ambit of advertisements. The DSK Legal brochure uses phrases such as “when trouble arises, you will be glad to have us on your side”. Fox Mandal, as well as some smaller firms such as Agnihotri & Jha, CL Gupta & Associates, Singhania & Partners among others, has also creatively added a ‘Client Testimonial’ section to its website. One of the Fox Mandal client statements is a glowing testimony that says that the firm must receive more awards for its excellent service. Singhania & Partners, strangely, also boasts of a ‘Gallery’ section which has pictures of its lawyers on office trips and vacations!

The BCI regulations mention how an advocate’s sign board or name plate must be of reasonable size. This rule is presumably so that lawyers do not use attractive signboards to solicit clients. However, websites, which can be considered to be online sign-boards, do not seem to show any semblance of austerity. There appears to be intense competition among law firms in creating aesthetically pleasing websites, as can be discerned from visiting the extremely well-designed websites for firms such as Fox Mandal, O. P. Khaitan & Co, Luthra, J Sagar & Associates, H&B Law Offices, etc. Most of the attractive websites also contain photographs of the interiors of the firm, as if to convey grandeur and professionalism. It is difficult to discern how any of this information regarding a law firm can be deemed to be ‘basic’. While Vaish Associates Advocates has a ten-minute video on its homepage,  the website of Swamy Associates, a Chennai-based law firm, goes a step further from just looking nice, it even has catchy techno background music!

Most of the law firms attempt to absolve themselves of any liability by showing a disclaimer. All disclaimers read more-or-less the same, claiming that the information printed on the website is ‘merely for informational purpose’ and ‘is not intended to be a source of advertising’. Some law firms, like Luthra and Nishith Desai make the user say ‘I accept’ to the disclaimer before entering the website. It is quite ironic how once the user accepts the sombre-looking disclaimer, they are taken to a flashy website with colourful font, layout, language and photographs. On opening the website of Anand & Anand, one can only view a high-resolution picture of its impressive head office. In order to open any of the other pages that contain information about the firm, the user has to register themselves with a user name and password. Perhaps the firm believes that complicating the process will make the information on the website seem less like an advertisement. The website for Kocchar & Co. is not any different from the other heavily-advertised law firms, as it has client testimonials, lawyer biographies and a list of awards won. However, when one clicks on the ‘Practice Areas’ tab, the following message is displayed: Rules of the Bar Council of India preclude the Firm from providing information about its practice areas or expertise on the web. It appears as if the firm is selectively blind to the regulations. Some firms, big ones like DSK and O.P. Khaitan, as well as several others like CL Gupta, Daksh Associates, HK Legal, Global Juris, Advani & Co, Lexntech, etc. don’t have disclaimers.  

The disclaimers universally declare that the websites are not for the purpose of solicitation. However, many of the websites include a feature where interested parties can schedule a meeting with the firm online. KPM & Associates devotes a prominent portion of its website homepage to a box labelled ‘Arrange A Session’. It invites the user to enter their name and contact details, and choose a time for the meeting, one of the options being ‘Immediately’. In its bid to reach out to as many people as possible, an IPR firm called Krishna & Saurastri even appears to take the surrogate-advertising route. The website asks visitors to leave their contact details behind to receive a Free DVD on patent law (solely informational, of course). A picture of the DVD is prominently displayed on the site, and not surprisingly, the DVD cover has the name of the firm proudly displayed. It’s almost reminiscent of advertisements for club soda and “music CD’s”!

However, it is unfair to pin down all law firms for flouting BCI regulations. Firms like King & Partridge and Dua Associates have websites, but they adhere to the BCI standards by providing only what information is strictly necessary. Mundkur Law Partners has an especially solemn website, which doesn’t contain any information, but only politely invites visitors to email them with queries. The website of Mulla & Mulla & Craigie Blunt & Caroe also contains only a plain message on its website that it is not allowed to advertise. The message states- “While we may not be in agreement with this view, what we hold in high esteem, is to maintain discipline by following the Bar Council’s mandate”.

Also, some of the biggest firms like Amarchand & Mangaldas, AZB & Partners and Desai & Diwanji go on to prove that internet advertising isn’t a pre-requisite for success; they do not have websites at all.

In light of all the above discussion, there are some pressing questions that need be answered. By making visitors sign a disclaimer, are the law firms admitting to advertising on the sly? Can extravagant website designs, fancy wording and displays of accolades and testimonials be considered solicitation or influence on the consumer?  Either the Bar Council of India must open its eyes to this trend and clamp down on those who flout the regulations (who could make up nearly every note-worthy firm, apart from dozens of upcoming ones) or recognise the changing nature of the ‘noble’ legal profession and relax the rules against advertising. 

NB: I would like to thank Arpita Seth (NLIU, Bhopal) and Spadika Jayaraj (NLSIU, Bangalore) for their research on this post.

Advertisements and Law School Rankings – The Umbilical Cord Connection

Law school rankings have always been a controversial topic. A four member committee headed by former Supreme Court judge, Syed Shah Mohammed Quadri was appointed by former Chief Justice of the AP High Court, Nisar Ahmed Kakru to investigate complaints filed by NALSAR students and faculty members. The committee came up with a report highlighting the administrative mismanagement and suggesting a complete overhaul of the management at the premier law school.

While much emphasize have been given by media on the misuse of power by NALSAR authorities and the alleged sexual abuse by Prof. Veer Singh; media intentionally or unintentionally tried to forget a very important and vital part of the committee report dealing with “Advertisement Expenses” incurred by NALSAR. The advertisements were in the popular “India Today” magazine.

The report of the committee does not rule out the possibility of advertisements influencing the rankings, it merely says “advertisements given  by  NALSAR may not have  a bearing on  its being  rated  by "lndia Today"  as the best, or  the  second best, law school in the country.”

NALSAR have been giving advertisements in “India Today” ever since 2006. In the year 2006 when “India Today” carried an impact feature on NALSAR, it was ranked 1. For this advertisement NALSAR incurred expenses around 8 lakhs. In the July 18, 2011 issue where NALSAR was ranked 1 by India Today, NALSAR had a one page advertisement on that issue. There are other similar figures which are detailed in the report. Almost every year since 2006, NALSAR has advertised in India and they come out as the best or the second best law school of the country in the rankings! Let’s hope that there is no direct or indirect umbilical cord connection between the rankings and advertisement!

Excerpts from the report are copied below.

While  the  advertisements given  by  NALSAR may not have  a bearing on  its being  rated  by "lndia Today"  as the best, or  the  second best, law school in the country, what is of concern is the  needless and wasteful  expenditure  incurred in this regard.

"India- Today", July 18th 2011 issue, carries details of the “India Today - Neilson" survey of the Top 10 law colleges in the country among whom NALSAR, Hyderabad is shown as No.1.  Curiously, the very same issue carries a one page advertisement by NALSAR.

Ever since 2006-07, NALSAR has been issuing advertisements in "India Today". The advertisements, invariably, appear in the very same issue in which the top 10 or 25 law colleges in India are rated.   For the year 2006-07, "India-Today" issue dated 5.6.2006 carries an impact feature of two pages. For this advertisement feature, NALSAR paid Rs.8.00 lakhs, (Rs.7.91, 636 after deducting TDS), vide Cheque No.241452 dated 13.6.2006. The said issue lists the top 10 law colleges in the country among whom NALSAR is rated as No.1.

For the year 2007-08, "India   Today" issue dated 4.6.2007 carries an impact feature of two pages, an advertisement given by NALSAR. This impact feature is in the very same issue in which the top   25 colleges in the country are listed among whom NALSAR is ranked No.2. Rs.8, 50,000/ -, (Rs.8, 40,369- after TDS deduction), was paid by cheque No.346024 dated 20.6. 2007.

The "India Today" issue dated 2.6.2008 lists the top 25 colleges in the country wherein NALSAR is shown as No.1. The  very same issue carries a one  page  advertisement given by  NALSAR for  which Rs.3,60,000/ -,  ( Rs.3,51,842/ -  after deducting TDS), was paid vide Cheque No.262028 dated 1.10.2008.

"India Today" issue dated 22.6.2009 lists the top 25  law colleges in the country wherein NALSAR is ranked as No.2.   The same issue carries a one page advertisement by NALSAR. Rs.3, 50,000 I-                was paid as advertisement charges by NALSAR, (Rs.3, 46,034 after deducting TDS),) vide Cheque No.265666 dated 25.7.2009.

For the year 2010-11, “India   Today" issue dated' 28.6.2010 rates the top 10   law colleges in the   country amongst whom NALSAR is ranked as No.2. The  very  same issue carries a one page  advertisement given by NALSAR for which  Rs.3,50,000I-  was   paid,  (Rs.3,43,000 after deducting TDS),  vide  Cheque No.902816 dated 10.8.2010.

We are informed that, unlike NALSAR, the National Law School, Bangalore does not incur such needless advertisement expenditure.