After the success of Suriya’s courtroom drama Jai Bhim (2021), the actor and director along with retired Madras High Court judge Justice Chandru launched a law academy on Sunday, July 16, called Satyadev Law Academy. The academy is primarily for students from marginalised and economically vulnerable backgrounds. Jai Bhim is based on the real-life legal involvement of Justice Chandru in the custodial torture case of an Irular (Scheduled Tribe) man, Rajakannu. Justice Chandru will serve as the director of Sathyadev Law Academy.
The academy was launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. The CM on Sunday also felicitated Suriya, director TJ Gnanavel, and Chandru for the launch of the academy. Suriya already runs the Agaram Foundation, a set of schools intended exclusively for students from low-income families.
“Practising law in India is not an easy task for common people. At the beginning of the 20th century, Indian lawyers displaced colonial English barristers and did well. These Indian lawyers were however only from certain communities and families. It was only after the Advocates Act of 1961 was passed that the legal profession and the study of law was decentralised,” a press note by the academy said.
Regarding access to legal education for students from marginalised backgrounds, they said, “In Tamil Nadu today, a majority of the students in public law colleges are from Backwards Class, Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste communities. But due to a lack of qualified teachers, they are unable to learn the profession effectively. Sathyadev Law Academy has been started to bridge this gap in legal education.”
Lessons will also be video recorded and uploaded on YouTube which will be free of cost to access. The funds required for producing these videos will be provided by 2D Entertainment owned by Suriya and Jyothika. Further, one student from each district in Tamil Nadu who are a part of the academy will be selected for a year’s formal training in law.
In a statement, released after the launch, Stalin said, “We have won the fight that education and employment do not belong to any particular section of the society on the basis of social justice. It was only after the Advocates Act of 1961 and reservations were enacted that people from poor backgrounds were also able to enter the legal profession. I launched Sathyadev Academy, with Justice Chandru as director, that seeks to nurture the legal skills of students from poor backgrounds.”
The CM also praised Suriya for his efforts. Fondly referring to the actor as his “younger brother,” Stalin said, “I appreciate his continued work for the education of people from poor backgrounds.”
Stalin further added that he had requested the academy founders to work with Naan Mudhalvan educational scheme launched by the state government.
சமூகத்தில் கல்வியும் வேலைவாய்ப்பும் ஒரு சாராருக்கு மட்டுமே சொந்தமல்ல என்று போராடி #SocialJustice அடிப்படையில் உரிமைகளைப் பெற்றோம். 1961-ஆம் ஆண்டு வழக்கறிஞர் சட்டம் இயற்றப்பட்ட பிறகும், #Reservation கொண்டுவரப்பட்ட பிறகுமே எளிய மக்களும் சட்டத்தொழிலில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளனர். எளிய… pic.twitter.com/8jHf1SjJFI
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) July 16, 2023