Justice S.R. Bannurmath, former Chief Justice of Kerala and chairman of Karnataka Law Commission, said in Belagavi on Sunday that young lawyers should be driven by ethics and values, not just desire for success.
He called lawyers the flag-bearers of justice and agents of change for the better. “They should never forget their social responsibility while carrying out their profession,” he said. He was speaking at the valedictory function of the M.K. Nambyar national-level moot court competition held at KLS R.L. Law College.
He advised youngsters to use social media judiciously and not depend on online sources for enhancing their knowledge. “We should never lose the habit of reading books and interacting with others. This teaches us more than online search engines,” he said. Recalling that he was among the earliest participants in moot courts in India in the early 1960s, he asked students to aspire for international competitions.
Justice B.A. Patil of the Karnataka High Court asked students to treat victory and defeat equally and look at each event in their life as a lesson. “It is important to believe in yourself and work hard to unleash your true potential.”
Justice A.S. Paschapure, former judge in the Karnataka High Court, spoke of the virtues of simplicity. “Law is based on common sense and it should be interpreted in the simplest terms possible. The excellence of a lawyer lies in his ability to look for truth in the facts presented to him,” he said.
The guests gave away prizes to the winners. A team of students from the National Law Institute University in Bhopal won the first prize in the moot court competition held in the college on Sunday. A team from Dr. Ambedkar Law University in Chennai finished runner-up.
Prajeet P. from Sastra University in Tamil Nadu and Divya Malaiswamy of Dr. Ambedkar Law University won the best speaker prizes. The best memorial prize was won by Symbiosis Law School in Hyderabad.
P.S. Sawkar, chairman, board of management, KLS, S.V. Ganachari, chairman of the governing council, principal Anil Hawaldar, faculty coordinator Satish Anikhindi, moot court secretary Megha Somannanavar, and others were present.
