Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, who is still a Rajya Sabha member, has decided to donate his entire salary as a parliamentarian to support the education of law students. The funds are available to any student pursuing a five-year law degree in Assam or any other state in the country.
Ranjan Gogoi was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in March 2020 and has not taken a single penny of the salary and allowances that should have been paid to him by the Rajya Sabha. The scholarship fund was established with the money and allowances that Gogoi has not yet taken.
Giving details, the former CJI told, “This money should be of good use to students, especially those studying law. I am sure that the allowances and salary that are due to be paid to me for the last two years will be good enough to fund the education of at least 10 to 15 students.”
Scholarship will cover tuition, host and lodging costs of students
Ranjan Gogoi worked as a lawyer in Assam’s Gauhati High Court, where he provided free legal services. He intends to publicise the scholarship through newspaper advertisements in order for students to apply. The scholarship will be available beginning next month, September and will cover not only tuition but also host and lodging costs for students.
Gogoi further told, “those students who are interested can e-mail their applications to the email id provided by the concerned authorities by the end of this month.”
Details required for taking the scholarship
“Students further need to give details including their names, contact numbers, email addresses, physical address, name of the institution where they have enrolled as a student, details of the course scores that have been octane by them in the board exams along with a copy of the mark sheet along with family income proofs for the last three years along with an application not exceeded 200 words,” Gogoi stated.
Opposition members walked out of the House and boycotted the swearing-in in March 2020, claiming a deal between the former CJI and the Narendra Modi government. Unfazed, Gogoi stated shortly after taking the oath that his parliamentarian colleagues “will welcome me very soon.” The nomination came just four months after he announced his retirement in November 2019.
