An integral part of Asian Education Group and ranked as one of the best Law Colleges in Delhi NCR –Asian Law College welcomed its new batch of B.A.LL.B. & LL.B. students by launching a grand week-long Orientation Programme scheduled from Monday, 26th October 2020 to Saturday, 31st October 2020. However, in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and keeping in mind the social distancing norms, this programme was organized virtually to benefit the students who commenced upon a new phase in their academic life.
At the ALC Orientation 2020, Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, Additional Solicitor General of India, Senior Advocate- Supreme Court of India and Former Secretary-Supreme Court Bar Association was an Eminent Guest who delivered a highly informative and invigorating LLS Lecture session on Tuesday, 27th October 2020 as part of the week-long Asian Law College B.A.LL.B. & LL.B. Orientation Programme 2020.
Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, who originally hails from Jodhpur, was appointed as one of the Additional Solicitor Generals (ASG) of India for the Supreme Court. Ms. Bhati was the first woman advocate from Jodhpur who has been designated as the Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court of India in March 2019. She is the first woman advocate from Rajasthan, who has been given the coveted stature at the apex court. She is among the 6 women advocates, who have been appointed as senior advocates.
Sister of Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati, a judge at the principal seat of Rajasthan High Court in Jodhpur, Ms. Aishwarya is currently an Additional Advocate General (AAG) for UP government in the Supreme Court. She has done LLM. She has been elected twice as Honorary Secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association in 2013 and 2014 and was adjudged as the ‘Best Student Advocate’ of the country in an All India Moot Court Competition organized by the Campus Law Centre of Delhi University in 1998.
Having argued many cases of national importance in her 20-year-long career like constitutional validity of Aadhaar card, constitutional validity of Muslim religious practices of Muslim Personal Law, equal rights for women officers in Air Force and right of women in Short Service Commission etc., Ms. Bhati has famously said that “success in litigation was not about how much money one makes but it is about how much difference one makes in people’s lives.”
In her LLS Lecture delivered on Tuesday, 27th October 2020 at Asian Law College as part of the week-long ALC B.A.LL.B. & LL.B. Orientation Programme 2020, Ms. Aishwarya Bhati majorly spoke on the topic “Indian Constitution: Know Your Rights”.
Ms. Aishwarya Bhati began her talk by first thanking the ALC Management for inviting her for this session and then congratulated the new batch of ALC B.A.LL.B. & LL.B. students and said, “What I feel is that you are chosen to become a student of law for life.” Cautioning the students, she further stated, “The initial years can be tough and you should bank on gathering more and more experiences and not look for a quick fix career. You should thoroughly enjoy yourself on this journey of self-discovery and remember that lawyers are actually the social engineers and social change catalysts and are therefore required to foster a strong sense of justice.”
Getting on to the topic of the day, viz. “Indian Constitution: Know Your Rights”, Ms. Aishwarya Bhati recapitulated the story of how our Indian Constitution came into being. Taking the students back in time, she narrated the key highlights of the making up of the Constituent Assembly, the drafting of the Constitution under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the influence of other constitutions of countries around the world, the structure of the Constitution (including Parts, Schedules & Appendices), the Governmental sources of power (Legislature & Judiciary), the Checks & Balances, Judicial Review, PIL and so on.
Her highly informative lecture was followed by a series of questions put up by students of Asian Law College covering a range of subject matters like, whether practicing in court was better than taking up judicial services, the debate around the relative importance of judiciary versus legislature, private practitioner versus government position, the importance of moot court at college level, the best provision in the Indian Constitution, the attraction of corporate sector & how to make a wise choice, the role of teachers in her life & career, and the role of technology in speedy delivery of justice during these COVID-19 pandemic times. Needless to say, the erudite guest speaker answered them all to the utmost satisfaction of the students.
Towards the end of her talk, the eminent guest Ms. Aishwarya Bhati shared some great words of career advice to the students who had just embarked upon a new phase in their academic life. She said, “Throw yourself in. Immerse yourself completely. If you don’t enjoy what you have chosen to study, how can you make others happy? Believe in yourself. Stand for positive things. Be on a journey. Improvise. But, enjoy your choice of career!”