On March 7, during his Budget speech, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced that Jammu and Kashmir will establish its own National Law University (NLU), fulfilling a long-pending demand for a premier legal institution in the region. He further revealed that ₹50 crore has been allocated for the development of this much-awaited project.

Timeline of events

The journey to establishing an NLU in Jammu and Kashmir has been long and frustrating. Back in 2018, law students were filled with optimism when the then PDP-BJP coalition government passed the J&K National Law University Bill in the legislative assembly. The passage of this bill was seen as a step forward in providing quality legal education in the region. However, the bill needed the governor’s approval before it could become law. During Governor N. N. Vohra’s tenure, certain clarifications were sought, which led to an indefinite delay.

It was only on October 1, 2019, that Governor Satya Pal Malik gave his formal assent, finally setting the legal groundwork for the establishment of the university. But this approval came at a time of political upheaval in Jammu and Kashmir. On August 5, 2019, the abrogation of Article 370 changed the region’s status, leading to its bifurcation into two Union Territories—Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. This political transition further delayed the implementation of the NLU as the J&K National Law University Act had to be amended and adopted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Since then, more than five years had passed, and the university remained an unfulfilled promise. The prolonged delay has led to frustration among law students who felt deprived........

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