Indian Higher Legal Education Needs Reforms

Higher education in India is suffering from many deficiencies and irregularities. These include lack of practical training, academic nature of education, absence of skills development, corruption, lack of research capabilities, etc.

Universities and colleges are engaging in all sorts of undesirable behaviours and practices and this is affecting the higher education and research oriented courses like PhDs. Indian government is also not very much enthusiastic in curing these deficiencies and eliminating the irregularities.

This guest column is analysing all these irregularities and illegalities happening in the higher education field in India. Law minister Salman Khurshid and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal must urgently intervene to save higher education in India in general and higher legal education in India in particular.

There is no second opinion about the fact that legal education in India needs urgent reforms. This is more so regarding higher legal education in India that is in really bad shape. Despite many suggested measures, higher legal education in India is still in a very poor state.

This is also the reason why continuing professional legal education in India has failed miserably. Further, this is also the reason why PhDs in India are almost extinct as far as legal education is concerned.

Naturally, higher legal education in India is in doldrums. Vast spread corruption has destabilised the higher education in India. These are serious issues that must be resolved by both the education minister and law minister of India.

Higher legal educational reforms in India must comprise of many essential elements. Transparency to support for higher legal research and education in India are essential components of the same.

These days news of international cooperation in the field of education between India and other nations is in abundance. However, that is just stressing upon the outer shell without curing the diseased inner core of decaying educational system of India.

India needs to urgently take care of the fallacies and deficiencies of its educational system that is not serving any purpose except brain drain. The sooner we do this the better Indian education system would be.

Is Corruption Undermining The Higher Education In India?

India is projecting itself as a global education hub. This claim seems to be exaggerated and far from realities. Before claiming India as a global educational hub we must have a reality check. Do we have qualitative education in India? Do we encourage research and novelty in India? Do we discourage corruption and arbitrariness in India so that education can be qualitative?

The answers to these questions seem to be in negative. Neither have we qualitative education in India nor our educational system is free from arbitrariness and corruption. Our educational system is academic in nature that is far from developing skills and practical acumen in our educated masses.

The truth is that PhDs in India are dying despite our boastful claims. Higher education in India needs to be rescued from arbitrariness, lack of transparency, corruption and other vices.

Take the example of higher legal education in India. The truth is that higher legal education in India is in jeopardy. The same is so tardy, troublesome and difficult to be successfully achieved that a majority of researchers do not wish to engage in the same. Even if some dare to go for higher education in India, the flawed educational system of India does not allow successful completion of the same.

While India is making lots of efforts to make Indian educational system qualitative in nature yet till corruption and arbitrariness is eradicated all such efforts would be futile.

Time has come to question and punish those who have made Indian educational system a menace and breeding ground for corruption. Unless this is done, all educational development initiatives of India would fail.

Higher Legal Education In India Is Dying

In this guest column, Praveen Dalal, managing partner of India’s exclusive techno legal ICT and IP law firm Perry4Law, has shared his recent communication with Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid. This communication has drawn the attention of these two ministers towards the decaying standards of higher legal education in India.

Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid are two of the most Important and Learned Politicians of India. If we have to take care of the “Deteriorating Conditions” of Higher Legal Research and Education in India, their “active participation and continuous attention” is a must.

While Kapil Sibal has been working hard in the field of Higher Education Cooperation with United States and other Countries, yet in our own Nation Higher Education Standards are not upto the mark and are prone to various “Corrupt Practices” and “Arbitrary Decision Making”.

Recently, I sent E-Mails to both Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid and brought to their notice the deteriorating conditions of Higher Legal Education in India. This is the excerpts/relevant portion of the same.

“I hope this E-Mail would find you in the best your Health and Strength.

Although I can wish a Good Health for You but I am afraid I cannot expect the same from our Dying Educational System, especially our Legal Educational System. I am personally acquainted of this decaying of our Legal Education in India.

Higher Legal Education is a must for Country like India. Being a Pioneer in Legal Fraternity and then as a Productive and Useful Member of Parliament, You are Yourself aware of the importance of Legal Education in India. However, Higher Legal Education in India is in “Doldrums”.

Corruption and Lack of Transparency has eaten up the Good Legal Standards and quality that was once a “Benchmark” of our Legal Education. Whether it is the “Funds” for PhD Candidates or other Financial and Non Financial Facilities, Legal Researchers are finding it really difficult to do PhD except by “Compromising” with Moral and Ethical Standards.

A person like Me, who believes in Transparency and Lack of Corruption, is seldom satisfied with the Legal Education of India. While I would prefer a Foreign University to do my PhD due to these “Irregularities” yet I hope You would not allow this “Negative Precedent” to repeat in the future. I hope You can do a “Great Service” to this Nation by eliminating the “Factors” that are responsible for the deaths of PhD in India”.

If PhD is a “Breeding Ground” for Corrupt Practices and Irregularities, there is no scope for Higher Legal Education in India. I hope the two Learned Ministers would take an immediate and urgent note of this “Precarious Situation”.

Civil Liberties And National Security Must Be Reconciled

Nations across the world are ignoring civil liberties for the false claims of national security. This is a disturbing trend especially when the United Nations is silent on the protection of human rights in cyberspace. This applies to India as well that has draconian laws like information technology act 2000 to violate civil liberties in cyberspace.

Unfortunately, UN has not been able to formulate a universally acceptable legal framework of cyber law and human rights protection in cyberspace. The obvious result is that different jurisdictions have different cyber laws. The only thing common in these cyber laws is that virtually none of them is protecting human rights in cyberspace.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT and IP law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India, there is need to have “Reconciliation” between National Security needs of India on the one hand and Protection of Fundamental Rights on the other. I have also sent a communication in this regard to Government of India in the past, informs Dalal.

It seems some segments of Indian government agree with this “reconciliation theory” suggested by techno legal experts of India. For instance, the Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Shri Kapil Sibal has said that adequate balance needs to be maintained between needs of ‘privacy of individual’ and ‘genuine security concerns of state’ while dealing with challenges of cyber security.

Another area that deserves the attention of Indian government in general and UN in particular pertains to Human Rights Protection in Cyberspace. According to techno legal experts like Praveen Dalal, presently UN and Human Rights in Cyberspace are two separate issues although they need to be one. Similarly, we have no International Cyber Law Treaty, International Cyber Security Treaty, International Cooperation in Techno Legal fields, etc, informs Dalal.

Interestingly, Kapil Sibal appealed to the global community to collaborate and evolve global protocols in security of information and network. Sibal assured that India stands committed to contribute and cooperate with international community on this issue. It seems at least Kapil Sibal is aware of the details of techno legal issues and that is good news for India.

Ravi Shankaran’s Extradition To India Is Now Doubtful

Today information and communication technology (ICT) is involved in almost all crimes. Today’s era belongs to cyber crimes and the corresponding cyber forensics capabilities and cyber forensics skills development to solve the same.

Law enforcement agencies, security agencies and intelligence agencies of India need to have good techno legal cyber forensics trainings. However, we have very few cyber forensics research, education and training institutions in India. As a result our law enforcement agencies, security agencies and intelligence agencies are not well equipped to deal with cyber crimes and cyber forensics cases.

Even lawyers and judges are not well versed with techno legal issues and this at times results in acquittal of the accused. While lawyers in India can affords to take techno legal issues lightly yet this casual approach may prove fatal if a well versed and technologically sound lawyer is pitted against them.

This is exactly what happened in the Naval war-room leak case’s investigation. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is now facing a setback in the extradition of Naval war-room leak case accused Ravi Shankaran.

The secret evidence provided by CBI has been declared to be shaky by the experts appointed by London court. This has demolished the case of CBI to a great extent. The case appears to be falling apart as the UK court-appointed cyber forensic expert has raised doubts over the secret evidence provided by Government of India.

The prosecutors of India had earlier presented secret evidence about an e-mail with an attachment of Sir Creek sent by Commander Virender Rana to a person called Vic Branson of Inmaty company in Belgium, which they claimed was owned by Shankaran.

These attachments they alleged had material which compromised the integrity of India. The Judge noted that the alleged e-mail by Vic Branson to Rana, produced by the prosecution as the main evidence against Shankaran, had no date and time and an independent court approved expert has confirmed that it is not possible to create an email, type 11 words, attach 8 documents and then save it all in 2 seconds only.

Cyber forensic expert Jason Coyne has, according to the judge, stated that such an e-mail could not have been sent based on the evidence produced by Government of India.

Earlier James Lewis, representing Shankaran, pointed out that Coyne's conclusion on the e-mail in question "has completely destroyed the Indian Government's case" against Shankaran. The Judge at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court put off the hearing after a plea from the Crown Prosecution Service John Hardy, who sought time to consult Government of India. The hearing about admissibility of the extradition case against Shankaran, will be held for two days from October 10, District Judge Nicholas Evans said.

In the past as well, the CBI has failed to act in a timely manner while investigating the case of defacement of its website.

Editorial Comments

We just came across some media reports after our posting. Hence the editorial comments. If possible, we would also come up with techno legal expert’s testimony in this regard very soon.

Dismissing reports of a setback in the extradition case involving Ravi Shankaran, main accused in the Naval War Room leak case, the CBI today claimed that a UK-based cyber expert has "wrongly considered" the creation time of email, presented as evidence by it in a London court. The agency said there was "no setback" to it in the case and it will present its views before the Westminster Court on October 10.

CBI will present its argument that the expert has wrongly considered creation time of the 'Temporary' internet file, related to email in question; which is actually an automatic process in the computer system to cache open files, which can be recovered in case of any crash" a senior CBI official said.

Will Indian Courts Accept Technology Ever?

Technology is most often used in civil cases especially matrimonial cases. Even in criminal cases, video conferencing is frequently used by courts for various purposes. This is the beginning of a larger effort known as e-courts.

We have no e-courts in India till September 2011. This means there is something grossly wrong with our management and expertise in this regard. For instance, we have a single techno legal e-courts research, training and consultancy centre in India.

It is managed by Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB), the premier techno legal segment of Perry4Law, the exclusive techno legal ICT and IP law firm of India and world wide. We need more such techno legal e-courts centers in India.

Further, there is also reluctance on the part of Indian courts to use technology for legal and judicial purposes. This is also the reason why e-courts could not be established in India till now.

Police, lawyers and judges are finding it difficult to deal with cyber crimes. More sophisticated fields like cyber forensics have yet to be introduced in Indian legal and judicial system. Here is an urgent need to develop cyber skills of police, lawyers and judges in India.

Take the example of a very recent case in this regard. A man who filed his divorce petition through a video conference from Canada has been directed to make a personal appearance in the court on December 15. Second additional family court judge G Manjula passed the order. Personal appearance is a concept that strikes at the very concept of e-courts and video conferencing.

This means courts and judges in India are still not comfortable with the use of technology. However, technological issues would be required to be taken care of by courts and judges in future.

Police, lawyers and judges must stress upon cyber skills development in India. E-learning for lawyers in India must be strengthened. Similarly, techno legal training and courses like cyber forensics trainings in India must also be undertaken by our police force, legal fraternity and judicial community.

The Futility Of Aadhar Project Of India And UIDAI

The Aadhar project of India and unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) have never been considered to be legal and constitutional. This is because both Aadhar project and UIDAI have been imposed upon India that also without any parliamentary oversight.

In fact Aadhar project and UIDAI are both undemocratic and unconstitutional as they are openly violating various fundamental rights of Indian citizens that also without following the constitutional procedure. Form time to time, experts have been suggesting that Aadhar project and UIDAI must be scrapped.

Indian government, Aadhar project and UIDAI are hiding truth from Indian citizens and are fooling them. However, sooner or later the truth was bound to be revealed. Besides experts in India now even the home ministry of India has been opposing the Aadhar project and UIDAI.

Neither Aadhar project nor UIDIA have been able to provide the mandatory legal framework under which they can operate. Further, both Aadhar project and UIDAI are openly violating various civil liberties like right to privacy in India.

Realising that Aadhar/UIDAI may be challenged in the Indian Courts; a façade was created in the form of National Identification Authority of India Bill 2010 (Bill). The Bill is still to become an applicable law as it has not been approved by the Parliament of India.

However, according to experts like Praveen Dalal, a Supreme Court lawyer and leading techno legal expert of India, even after the Bill becomes and applicable law, both Aadhar and UIDAI would remain “Unconstitutional”. This is so because the “Constitutional Safeguards” that are required to make Aadhar/UIDAI Constitutional are still missing from the proposed Bill.

The Home Ministry has now further identified flaws in the enrolment process followed by the UIDAI, citing cases where people have got UID numbers on the basis of false affidavits. None can doubts that fake UID cards has made Aadhar project further vulnerable to misuse. What is surprising that our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has failed to take notice of these unconstitutional and illegal irregularities in the functioning of Aadhar project and UIDAI.

In a note written to the Cabinet Committee on UIDAI headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the home ministry has questioned the security of the biometric data captured by the UIDAI and pointed out uncertainties in its revenue model.

The UIDAI has sought an additional 15,000 crore to do biometric scanning of all residents of the country through its own registrars, a proposal that is being opposed by the home ministry and the planning commission, as the government has already tasked the census office with the primary responsibility of collecting biometric data of all Indian residents for a National Population register card.

The data collected by the census office is supposed to be shared with the UIDAI and every NPR card will carry the UID number of the card holder. The census office is part of the home ministry and so far has collected biometric data for 30 lakh individuals. The home ministry has urged the Cabinet to restrict the authority's multi-registrar model of biometric enrolment to the already decided level of 20 crore by March 2012.

"The home ministry, the Planning Commission and others have given their comments," Home Minister P Chidambaram said about the UIDAI proposal for more funding recently. He also said that the Cabinet Committee on UIDAI (CCUIDAI) would take a call on the overlap between the NPR and the UIDAI. Why CCUIDAI is allowing futile Aadhar project and UIDAI to continue is still a big mystery?