No campus, no students as NLU Uttarakhand remains on paper

NEW DELHI

Recent student protests at some National Law Universities (NLUs) over institutional accountability have drawn attention to Uttarakhand, where 15 years after its assembly passed the National Law University Act, the state does not have a functioning NLU.

The delay stands out when compared to two other states created in November 2000 – Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

While Chhattisgarh established the Hidayatullah National Law University at Raipur in 2003, Jharkhand established the National University of Study and Research in Law at Ranchi in 2010.

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat told The Hindu that the students of the state are suffering due to the delay in setting up the NLU campus. “This issue has been caught up in BJP’s petty internal politics, but students are paying the price,” he said.

The Uttarakhand state legislature passed the National Law University Act in 2011. Fifteen years later, however, the proposed institution has neither a permanent campus nor the first batch of students. Its location has changed repeatedly: from Bhowali in Nainital district to Pantnagar in Udham Singh Nagar and Ranipokhari near Dehradun and now considered Haldwani.

The uncertainty over the location of the NLU in Uttarakhand eventually reached the Supreme Court, which in 2018 ordered the state government to set up the university. The court also clarified that academic sessions need not wait for a permanent campus and can begin in a government building or rented premises.

In 2019, the then Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat laid the foundation stone in Ranipokhari for what was planned to be the country’s 23rd NLU. Seven years later, the university remains defunct.

Out-of-state students continue to seek admission to NLUs elsewhere, often incurring higher housing and travel costs and losing access to residency opportunities available at some institutions.

The absence of the NLU is particularly significant for the Himalayan state, which faces complex issues related to environmental disputes, forest rights, disasters, land laws and migration.

Published – 30 Aug 2026 14:54 IST