Red Tape Delayed MNLU Launch, HCBA PIL Facilitated Campus Development: CJI
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Nagpur: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Gavai, in his address as chancellor of Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU), Nagpur, credited a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the High Court Bar Association (HCBA) for breaking the bureaucratic deadlock that stalled the university's development.
Speaking at the inauguration of MNLU's new administrative block on Sunday, marking the completion of the first phase of campus infrastructure, CJI Gavai recounted a decade-long journey shaped by legal activism, political support, and administrative resolve.
"We know that chief ministers and leaders often have good intentions when it comes to supporting the judiciary, but bureaucratic red tape can delay action.
That's why the PIL by HCBA, led by counsel Sudhir Puranik, played a crucial role. When the land issue wasn't resolved, it was through the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court's orders that we secured this location, now part of an emerging education hub," Gavai said, referring to the area adjacent to IIIT and Kavikulguru Kalidas Sanskrit University.
Reflecting on the university's origin, Gavai said that the idea emerged during a visit by then President Pratibha Patil to Nagpur in 2011, when justice Vikas Sirpurkar demanded a national law university in the city during HCBA's platinum jubilee celebration.
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"Operations began in 2016 from two classrooms and minimal staff at the Judicial Officers Training Institute (JOTI)," he recalled.
The chancellor commended his predecessor, former CJI Sharad Bobde, for laying the foundation of the campus. "Bobde entrusted me with infrastructure responsibilities, and in 2017, we held day-long deliberations to finalise a vision document rooted in modern amenities and green technology," he said.
The architectural plans were finalised through a process involving a jury of five international architects, with designs exhibited at Chitnavis Centre, the CJI recalled.
Gavai highlighted that then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis committed Rs500 crore to MNLU's development. "Despite changes in govt, from Fadnavis to Uddhav Thackeray and back, support remained constant. Gadkari, too, extended critical help," he noted.
Gavai acknowledged contributions from former guardian minister Nitin Raut and his predecessor Chandrashekhar Bawankule, as well as senior bureaucrats like then additional chief secretary Manoj Saunik. He particularly praised justice Anil Kilor for his ongoing involvement in the project. "He has put in extra hours and meticulous planning. I am confident I'm handing over the reins to capable hands," Gavai stated.
Concluding with aspirations for the future, Gavai said the institution's future lies with its students and faculty. "The govt has provided infrastructure. To become the best university in the world, it needs inspired students and dedicated academicians. I urge the faculty and students to dream big and make MNLU, Nagpur, an institution of global repute."
Fellow Supreme Court judges Dipankar Datta, Prasanna Varale, and Atul Chandurkar, retired SC judge Vikas Sirpurkar, Bombay HC chief justice Alok Aradhe, HC judges Nitin Sambre, Bharti Dangre, and Anil Kilor, CM Devendra Fadnavis, union minister Nitin Gadkari, solicitor general Tushar Mehta, Maharashtra advocate general Birendra Saraf, MNLU vice-chancellor Vijender Kumar, and registrar Ragini Khubalkar shared the dais.
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