ILS Pune enters centenary year: Throwback to 100 years of Brilliance!

Staying true to the proverbial adage that the future belongs to those who dare to dream - the Indian Law Society (ILS) established under the aegis of stalwart philanthropists whose vision to breathe life into an institute of excellence - celebrates 100 years of brilliance today.

Having produced prominent changemakers like former Chief Justices of India Justice YV Chandrachud, Justice PB Gajendragadkar and Justice ES Venkataramiah among other legal doyens, ILS has always made heads turn with its strong alumni who have gone on to make an indelible mark in the legal world.

Every nation, in order to evolve civilizationally and culturally, banks upon its social capital among other things, and one of the key elements of the social capital is its educational institutions. Pune being commonly referred to as Oxford of the East, has been home to the distinguished Indian Law Society which has generated prominent scholarship and metamorphosed thought leaders across myriad domains in the field of law and beyond.

The century-old legacy of ILS is telling of not only its prominence in legal academia, but also in terms of the veracity of its contribution to the society as a whole through its alumni. Having consistently been ranked among the top law schools in India, ILS was established under the stewardship of the likes of noteworthy philanthropists such as Narayanrao Chandavarkar, JR Gharpure, Diwan Bahadur and many more.

In 1923, the Society not only established one of the premier law schools, but also other verticals like Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS), Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy (CMHLP), Centre for Health Equity Law and Policy (C-HELP), Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (ILSCA), among others. Each of these Centres have emerged to be powerhouses of academic engagements and grassroots advocacy.

The Society has achieved several accolades over the years and has come a long way since its inception on March 4, 1923. The Society now enters into its centenary year. Envisaging the colossal success that the institution has had over the years, it is not practically possible to shine light on the same in a brief piece. On that note though, it is only fitting to cast the spotlight on the Society’s most landmark accomplishments.

The most important contribution of ILS is, without doubt, the establishment of Indian Law Society’s Law College in 1924.

In its 99th year, the college is going very strong and has produced the likes of Chief Justices of India, Deputy Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, Judge Advocate General Officers, IAS, IRS Officers among other civil servants, politicians, judges of high courts & district courts and lawyers who have made a mark in developing legal jurisprudence through landmark litigations, legislations and policies.

Personalities like Vilasrao Deshmukh and Susheel Kumar Shinde and many others emerged as illustrious students of this college. There is hardly any field of academia in which the Indian Law Society and ILS Law College has not left its imprint.

Speaking briefly about the legacy of the college, it was initially led by its first Principal Dr. JR Gharpure. He was an eminent jurist and his treatise on Hindu Law is still revered as one of the most authentic works on the subject. Apart from having an extraordinary command of the English language, he was a profound scholar of Sanskrit and Marathi. In fact, some of his works in Sanskrit have given him widespread recognition.

During his tenure, eminent personalities like Dr. BR Ambedkar, Dr. Sarojini Naidu, Dhondo Keshave Karve, Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan happened to visit the College. Dr. Gharpure’s towering personality and his profound knowledge of law also invited the attention of Dr. Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi and Subhashchandra Bose. After his retirement, Prof. GV Pandit took the reins of the College. He too was a profound scholar of English and Sanskrit and had command on Roman Law along with other domains of law.

After the retirement of Principal Pandit, the reins of the College were taken over by Principal VS Ranade for some time and then Prof. SP Sathe joined the institution and virtually transformed the academic legacy of the college with his versatile persona and legal expertise.

Apart from making huge contributions to the fields of administrative law and Indian Constitution, Prof. Sathe was also very sensitive to his educational role and through his numerous op-ed articles in Marathi newspapers, he spread legal literacy amongst masses.

After his retirement, with an intent to foster hard core research in law, ILS established the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) in 1991. To remember his contribution, the College also evolved his signature annual event “Remembering Prof. SP Sathe".

Prof. Sathe, after his retirement, handed over the baton to Dr. DD Kelawala for a brief period, and then the reins were handed over to Vaijayanti Joshi, a distinguished daughter of an illustrious father. She led the ILS Law College and Indian Law Society for over 26 years and is currently the Director Academics and Administration at ILS Law College.

During her tenure as the Principal, apart from horizontal expansion of the college, with the establishment of post-graduate department of law and ILS Ph.D. Research Centre, the society also evolved vertically with establishment of its sister concerns like IALS, CMHLP, C-HELP and ILSCA over the years.

Another prominent torchbearer of the Society has been Justice Mridula Bhatkar, an alumna of ILS and a distinguished retired judge at the Bombay High Court, is currently the President of ILS.

CMHLP is one of the front ranking institutions around the world and is known for its profound contributions in the field of mental health.

It boasts of a lion’s share in the enactment of the Mental Health Act 2017. Recognizing the importance of Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) systems, the Society recently embarked upon the establishment of Indian Law Society’s Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (ILSCA).

With its state- of- the-art premises, library and other hi-tech infrastructure , ILSCA has the potential to become the hub of institutional and non-institutional arbitration.

Present times are the times of liberalization and globalization, and therefore the Indian Law Society is mulling over the prospect of establishing itself as an autonomous University. With a global diaspora of its alumni community, and with its extraordinary contribution in constantly setting new benchmarks on the canvas of legal education, ILS deserves particular attention by both civil society and the government .

Oftentimes, institutions thrive on its historical legacy, but when it comes to ILS, the academic journey begun by Dr. JR Gharpure is still persistently continued by the scholars of this great institution with meaningful contributions in the form of books and articles in prominent publications by its faculty members and alumni in the fields of family law, public law, contract law, insolvency law, property law, etc.

Magnum opus like Mulla’s Law of Contract, Mulla on the Law of Insolvency in India, M.P. Jain’s Constitutional Law, Ratanlal Dhirajlal’s Evidence Law reflect the academic contribution by the recent generation of ILS scholars.

Couched in a canopy of luscious foliage with picturesque nooks at every sight, the Indian Law Society has had a track record of offering the best of both worlds while giving its members an exquisite chance to nurture the soul and mind.

Resonating with the words of Malcolm X, 'Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today’, the Indian Law Society has time and again proven to be a bedrock of varied opportunities for its students.

From activities advancing prowess among students with niche interests from academics to oral advocacy, negotiation and mediation among others, all of this has invariably helped ILS’ students to have a jump start in their professional life.

Professor Dr. Sanjay Jain is the Officiating Principal of ILS Law College, Pune. He is totally blind and an ardent advocate of rights of the marginalised and disabled.

Jelsyna Chacko is an alumna of ILS, Pune and is passionate about contributing to law and policy literature on gender justice and neutrality, disability rights and issues related to Access, Diversity and Inclusion