JGU organised on October 29 the Arun Jaitley Inaugural Memorial Lecture delivered by Mr. Sidharth Luthra, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, on the topic ‘Role of Judiciary in Protecting the Constitutional Foundations of Law & Public Policy’.

Mr. Siddharth Luthra is a Senior Advocate with an illuminating career spanning over almost three decades. He was designated as Senior Advocate in 2007. Thereafter, he was appointed as the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) for a term of two years, in 2010, during which he represented the Government in a variety of matters including criminal, constitutional, human rights and environmental. Before being appointed as the ASG, Mr. Luthra represented the Government of India in the High Court of Delhi from 2004 to 2007 as Senior Panel Counsel. He acted as Government counsel to assist the Judges Inquiry Committee investigating into misbehaviour alleged against Justice Soumitra Sen, Judge, High Court of Calcutta. Mr. Luthra is a renowned name in the field of academics as well. He has also made a significant contribution to contemporary legal research.

Mr. Arun Jaitley (December 28, 1952-August 24, 2019) was an Indian lawyer, politician, and government official who served as leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Rajya Sabha (upper chamber of Indian Parliament) during 2009–14. In 2014 he joined the cabinet of the BJP-led government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Jaitley was known as an eloquent speaker, and his political and professional career was largely noncontroversial.

Since the establishment of JGU, Mr. Jaitley has been a very strong supporter of the university’s efforts and initiatives. He always encouraged JGU from its modest beginnings. When JGU invited him to be the Chief Guest for the 5th Convocation of the university held on August 7, 2016, he made sure that he participated in the Convocation under very difficult and uncertain circumstances due to a very important scheduling conflict. You can hear the speech that Mr. Jaitley gave at the 5th Convocation of JGU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XbKX_wMXHw