Bangalore: NLSIU alumnus tops at Oxford

Updated on: Monday, November 07, 2011

Niranjan V has done namma Bengaluru proud . The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore alumnus, has emerged as a topper in a postgraduate programme conducted by the world's second oldest university, Oxford University.

A Rhodes scholar __ the Times of India had reported his selection to the Oxford University postgraduate programme under the scholarship in 2009, 24-year-old Niranjan had opted for Bachelor of Civil Law course. Niranjan had to contend with 150 classmates in what he says is one of the most "demanding programmes in the world" . Of the four courses of Conflict of Law, Restitution, Personal Taxation and Law of Evidence, he emerged as the topper in three.

"It was lot of hard work, but enjoyable nonetheless. The course is so well taught that even the enormous workload becomes a pleasure. I was happy with my choice, it was what I wanted to do. It did not feel like an ordeal. I came down to India only once for 10 days during Christmas. The rest of the vacation was all spent in studying," Niranjan told Times of India from Chennai.

"The result came as a pleasant surprise. I got to know of it only after I was back in India ," he said.

"The stint there was absolutely incredible. It was an intellectual exhilaration. You learn each subject in detail and in much depth. It's not just policy-oriented law, but what a barrister interested in litigation would want to read. I interacted with the best intelligent minds in the field there, like Lord Hoffmann,'' he said.

Niranjan was always keen on studying litigation and had dreamt of doing so in Oxford for its close relationship to litigation . "There is an inexplicable joy in arguing law. Litigation is an area where one gets to deal with legal reasoning . Every time you get a case, you can make legal arguments that have not been made before ," said Niranjan, who was an active participant in moots while in NLSIU.

NLSIU, he said, helped him build a 'great' platform. "I was already exposed to some aspects of English law in NLSIU. I had a strong base. And, at Oxford , people are familiar with NLSIU as every year there are Rhodes scholars from the institute ," said the son of a chartered accountant and an academic consultant.

Working under a senior advocate in the Madras High Court for a few months now, Niranjan is thoroughly enjoying his role. "Not just that I am a native of this place, but I get to do some good work in commercial and taxation here," he said.

Times of India

Bangalore: NLSIU alumnus tops at Oxford

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