About CLPRS:

Constitutional Law and Policy Reform Society (CLPRS) believes that understanding the intricacies of Constitution law and policy formulation is the cornerstone for the functioning of an effective democratic system.  CLPRS aims to engage and disseminate knowledge of constitutional law through deliberations, interactive lectures series, workshops, seminars and national debate competitions.  The main objective of CLPRS is to provide a platform for the students and faculty of SVKM’s Pravin Gandhi College of Law to engage in the pervasive analysis and understanding of Constitutional Law, the very backbone of our legal ecosystem. The Society provides a platform where contemporary policies and laws are discussed with the objective of policy innovation and law reform recommendations within the framework of constitutional principles. The art of debate, research, and oratory skills are honed through the events organised by CLPRS that include bi-annual debates, discussions on current constitutional developments, policy changes, guest lectures by judges and senior counsels and legal awareness initiatives.

2020-2021 Highlights

With the guidance of the faculties-in-charge and keeping in mind CLPRS’s objectives, the following inter alia are a few events that CLPRS members organised in 2020-2021:

1. Guest speaker(s) lecture/panel discussion series

Guest speaker(s) lecture/panel discussion series conversing on socio-legal topics and such contemporary matters, namely:

• National Webinar on the landmark Vishakha v. State of Rajasthan judgment with the esteemed Supreme Court Justice Sujata Manohar, one of the three judges on the bench in the Vishakha case;
• Webinar on Constitutional Conundrums: Sudarshan TV Case & Free Speech with Adv. Sudipto Sircar, Advocate, Supreme Court. 

2. Annual National Law Day celebrations

Annual National Law Day celebrations at various schools across Maharashtra as an constitutional awareness initiative where CLPRS members conducted hour-long lectures discussing the intricacies and societal impact of the Constitution of India and its principles.

3. Monthly discussions on recent legal & constitutional issues/developments

Monthly discussions on recent legal & constitutional issues/developments lead by CLPRS members, namely:

• Challenges and opportunities of the contested three Farm Laws of 2020;
• Masked Contempt: Dissecting the Prashant Bhushan verdict on contempt of court: The discussion analyzed the SC’s verdict on Adv. Prashant Bhushan’s tweet on the CJI’s certain actions, against which the court punished him for contempt of the court, considering the tweet attacked the integrity of the Judiciary.
• Critical review of the Data Protection Bill, 2019: The discussion was focused on analyzing the various clauses of the said bill, specially the problematic ones with respect to government surveillance, etc.
• The Toolkit Conspiracy: What is it & why is it relevant: The discussion was about the Toolkit prepared for the Farmers Protest, which in turn led to arrests under Preventive Detention Laws on the ground that the same was seditious in nature. Various aspects of the sedition law, the preventive detention laws and the contents of the said toolkit were analyzed during the discussion.
• The OTT Guidelines, 2021: A Balance between regulation and free speech: The new OTT Guidelines were discussed and deliberated upon.
• Discussion on NCT Bill, 2021- Some Legislative powers being transferred to Lieutenant governor and the discussion on the judgment.
• Discussion on Relevance of Sedition in contemporary times: The event was conducted with the objective to facilitate a discussion on sedition, its history and constitutionality of Section 124A in present time.
• Discussion on- “Linguistics in India”: The discussion aimed to facilitate a conversation on languages, the issue of Linguistics in India being endangered and the importance of their preservation.

4. Annual National Essay Writing Competition

Annual National Essay Writing Competition with various current as well as historic socio-legal topics as themes, such as: 

• The Pandemic, Labour Bills and Labour Rights,
• 10th Schedule of the Indian Constitution - An Analytical Study,
• Era of AI vis-à-vis Data Protection Laws in India,
• Increasing Racism against North Indians in light of the Pandemic: Need for Anti-Racism Laws in India. 

5. Webinar on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti:

The webinar was hosted by Mr. Dipankar Kamble, author of "Dewaji—making of an Ambedkarite Family". The webinar focused on the increasing relevance of Dr. Ambedkar in the current time. The guest speaker also discussed the two-generational struggle and offered a glimpse of the socio-economic conditions of a Dalit.

6. Organized Youth Parliament in collaboration with Public Concern for Governance Trust (PGCT):

This event enabled the participants to know about political parties and increase their understand of the functioning of the parliament. It provided an opportunity to the participants to become members of political parties and attend a joint session of parliament where a Bill was being discussed. It was a participative learning experience for both the participants and audience.