The award was presented on September 5, Teachers’ Day, at a ceremony held at the University’s Moot Court Hall. The event brought together prominent members of the judiciary and legal fraternity to celebrate Baxi’s decades-long influence on Indian legal scholarship.
Among those present were former Supreme Court judge Justice AK Sikri, former Chief Justice of India Justice UU Lalit, Delhi High Court Chief Justice and NLU Delhi Chancellor Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Supreme Court Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Attorney General for India R Venkataramani.
Baxi, who serves as a Distinguished Professor at NLU Delhi, has had a long and influential academic career spanning Indian and international institutions. He has been associated with the University of Warwick as a Professor of Law since 1996 and earlier served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Delhi between 1990 and 1994. Before that, he spent more than two decades teaching at Delhi University and also served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Gujarat. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2011.
The ceremony began with a welcome address by NLU Delhi Vice-Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) G.S. Bajpai, followed by remarks from GALTER Founder Director Prof. (Dr.) M.K. Bhandari on the significance of the recognition.
Speakers at the event reflected on Baxi’s impact not merely as an academic but as a scholar whose work has shaped generations of lawyers, judges and students.
Justice Sikri recalled his association with Baxi from his student years, while Justice Lalit spoke about the academic’s role in encouraging a conception of law that could respond meaningfully to instances of injustice.
Attorney General R Venkataramani also shared his experience of attending Baxi’s classes as a guest student. Justice Upadhyaya highlighted Baxi’s wider contribution to legal education and intellectual discourse, while Justice Bishnoi reflected on the responsibility of judges to make a meaningful difference through their work—an ethos closely associated with Baxi’s scholarship.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was subsequently presented to Baxi jointly by the dignitaries on the dais. The honour was instituted in recognition of his exceptional and sustained contribution to legal thought and scholarship. Baxi delivered an acceptance address following the presentation.
NLU Delhi, in announcing the award, described the occasion as a celebration of Baxi’s enduring legacy and his profound influence on modern Indian jurisprudence. The university organised the programme in collaboration with the Global Academy of Law-Tech Education and Research (GALTER).
The ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Prof. (Dr.) Niraj Kumar, followed by the National Anthem.
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