No campus, no students as Uttarakhand’s NLU remains on paper

Uttarakhand, one of the three new States carved out of the erstwhile Bihar in November 2000, still does not have a single functioning National Law University (NLU) despite a law passed 15 years ago. While neighboring Chhattisgarh established the Hidayatullah National Law University in Raipur in 2003 and Jharkhand opened the National University of Study and Research in Law in Ranchi in 2010, Uttarakhand’s planned NLU has remained on paper. The State Assembly enacted the Uttarakhand National Law University Act in 2011, but the institution has yet to admit its first cohort of students or occupy a permanent campus.

The proposed site for Uttarakhand’s NLU has shifted repeatedly since the law was passed. Initial plans placed it in Bhowali in Nainital district, later moved to Pantnagar in Udham Singh Nagar, then to Ranipokhari near Dehradun, and most recently to Haldwani. The uncertainty over the location prompted the Uttarakhand High Court to intervene in 2018. The court directed the State government to establish the university and clarified that academic sessions could begin in a government building or rented premises while a permanent campus was being developed.

In 2019, then Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat laid the foundation stone at Ranipokhari, announcing what was to be India’s 23rd NLU. However, seven years later, the university remains non-operational. Students from Uttarakhand continue to seek admission in NLUs across the country, often incurring higher accommodation and travel costs while missing out on domicile-linked opportunities offered by some institutions.

The absence of a state-run NLU carries particular significance for Uttarakhand, a Himalayan State grappling with complex legal issues such as environmental disputes, forest rights, disaster management, land laws, and migration. Legal education advocates argue that a dedicated NLU would strengthen the State’s capacity to address these challenges by producing locally trained legal professionals.

Despite the repeated delays and shifting locations, the project has not advanced beyond ceremonial groundbreaking. The State government has not provided a definitive timeline for when the university might become functional.

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