The law is supreme and even above the king, India’s first Lokpal, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, told law students of Xavier Law School on Saturday.

In the Vedas and the Upanishads, law is treated as the “king of kings”, he said.

Justice Ghose was speaking at the inauguration of the law school. “Since the creation of the state, law comprised a set of rules that are supreme in nature…. A king may possess the highest authority in the country but in the eyes of law a king and a simple person are the same…. Law works in the same way for both of them. Hence it is… more supreme than the king.”

The school, part of St Xavier’s University, will start functioning from Monday. It will offer five-year integrated BA LLB (honours) and BCom LLB (honours) courses.

The curriculum has been framed along the model followed by the national law schools. “The law of any country holds unlimited power over that country. The end objective of law is to regulate peace, harmony, justice and security,” Ghose, a Xaverian, said. “Everyone in the state is required to abide by the law.”

The school’s curriculum has been framed in such a way that graduates can practise in courts or work as consultants, Xavier’s university vice-chancellor Father Felix Raj said.

Ghose reminded students about the difficulties they could face if they wanted to practise law after completing the course.

The formative years might not fetch adequate returns. “But I am sure the returns will be 100 per cent if you carry on (with the difficulties) in the first ten years,” he said.

The Xavier Law School not only aims to produce legal experts but also students coached in “the important values of life”, Father Felix Raj said. “This will be our contribution to the entire legal system of India.”

The university has a law library, a moot court and a legal aid clinic for students.

University directive

University registrar Asish Mitra announced a set of instructions to students at the programme.

Every student must have 75 per cent attendance in class. They must be punctual. Classes will start at 10am every day but students must be in the classroom by 9.55 am, he said.

There is no uniform for students. But they are expected to dress appropriately. They can carry mobile phones on the campus. But using phones on the campus is strictly prohibited, he said.

Smoking on campus is not allowed and every student has to take part in social welfare activities, Mitra said.