Cuttack: The 12th Convocation of National Law University Odisha (NLUO) was held on Saturday in the Amphitheatre at NLUO’s own campus.
The University conferred degrees to 168 graduates of the five-year integrated BA LLB (Hons) and BBA LLB (Hons). 42 post-graduate students were conferred LLM degrees and 3 scholars were awarded PhD degrees.
Additionally, 5 BA Law (Hons) students were also conferred degrees. They became the first graduating batch of this one-of-its-kind academic UG Course with a focus on skill building and employability in the legal and ancillary sectors. 14 Gold Medals were also given to the meritorious students.
The Convocation opened with the presentation of the annual report by Prof Ved Kumari, Vice-Chancellor of NLUO, an eminent legal educator with global credentials, capturing the achievements and initiatives of the academic year gone by i.e. 2024-25.
Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court and Chancellor of NLUO, Hon’ble Justice Harish Tandon presided over the proceedings of the function. The Chief Guest for the occasion was Justice Aniruddha Bose, Director of the National Judicial Academy and former Judge of the Supreme Court of India.
Alongside academic accomplishments, the University has continued to strengthen its scholarship initiatives by awarding merit-cum-means scholarships annually to the tune of INR 18,00,000 for meritorious and deserving students from vulnerable income backgrounds. In the efforts to make legal education accessible, this year, 58 students were admitted from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Persons-with-Disabilities category.
NLUO is truly a pan-India institution with representations from 28 States and Delhi.
In addition to the existing 2 UG, 2 PG, and PhD programmes, amongst all the National Law Universities in India, NLUO is the second NLU to offer a 3-year LLB programme. The first batch of this programme will graduate in 2026. NLUO has announced an additional course, that is, the 2-year MBA programme in Healthcare Management and Law to be started from January 2026. The academic year 2024-25 also witnessed NLUO offering 18 certificate courses for students, practitioners and working professionals.
NLUO has been producing capacitated and future-ready legal professionals with a commitment to justice. Sustained efforts of faculties, students and administrative staff in building a culture of academic excellence and a vibrant campus life have led to significant progress in the ranking of the University in the Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD) mandated National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). NLUO’s ranking has substantially risen from 26th position in 2023-24 to 15th in 2024-25 amongst all Law Universities (government, private and trust funded included). It is ranked 6th among the 27 National Law Universities in India.
The graduating 5-year LLB batch of 2025 from NLUO has secured a total of 60 jobs, out of the 80 students who participated in the recruitment process. The recruiters range from top-tier domestic law firms (Saraf and Partners, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Argus Partners etc), banks, private corporations, advisory firms, and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
Additionally students have also secured offers from policy think tanks and landed prestigious fellowships like PRS India’s Legislative Assistant to the Member of Parliament (LAMP) Fellowship and the Internet Freedom Foundation’s Freedom Innovation Fellowship.
The University’s 21 Research Centers also undertook some important projects such as conducting training programme for the Railway Police Force, training for 500 officers of the Odisha Police on the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. International Conferences on Finance, Economics, Banking and Insolvency Laws, along with a Conference on the role of international trade in Globalization Energy Transition were also organised. NLUO also conducted an official satellite event on “Advancing Children’s Access to Justice”, as part of the 5th World Congress on Children’s Access to Justice held in Madrid, Spain.
Project Kutumb, the flagship outreach initiative of NLUO launched the first urban area community-level child welfare and protection committees (CLCWPC) in Cuttack in the presence of the VC, District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) and Cuttack Mayor. Centre for Child Rights (CCR) also re-launched its academic journal i.e. Journal on the Rights of the Child of National Law University Odisha, which got internationally indexed and currently boasts of a globally credentialed Editorial Board and Editorial Advisory Board.
NLUO’s mooting also earned laurels with students being finalists in the globally prestigious Oxford Price Media Law Moot, winners of Dastur National Tax Moot and Semi-Finalists of Surana and Surana National Corporate Moot. NLUO also conducted India’s only annual maritime moot i.e. International Maritime Arbitration Moot (IMAM) and introduced a new Moot Court Competition on Health Care.
NLUO also hosted the first legal services fest and successfully organised the 7th Bioscope Global Film Festival which featured various short films, documentaries, feature films, music videos and masterclass by actors, directors, script-writers etc.
NLUO also offered a unique six-credit course which included a play as the evaluation criterion. It was a “Theatre workshop on Legal issues” curated by Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC). It culminated with a play titled Mitti, which was a social commentary on identity, justice and dignity, conceptualized and staged by NLUO students.
The university also conducted a staff versus student cricket match which was more about team building and camaraderie than winning and losing. Continuing in the same spirit NLUO conducted its first “team building, management, leadership skills building” training programme for members of the faculty and staff.
The VC left the graduating students a life advise and reminding them of the core of legal education, “Days like convocation are like a bridge as one foot remains fixed in the past and one goes into the future. I say this to remind you that law becomes the anchor when storms gather. The law is the foundation holding democracy stable. Lawyers, judges, teachers and scholars must hold on to that anchor and it is you who has to do this. Uphold and promote the vision of NLUO with your empathy to the marginalized. professionalism in your workplace and integrity and sincerity in your personal and professional life.”
