CJI Surya Kant addresses graduating students at the 34th convocation of the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru. (Img: X)
Bengaluru: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Saturday urged graduating law students to view the legal profession as a constitutional calling rather than merely a career, emphasising that lawyers must defend individual autonomy, uphold liberty and remain accountable to the people.
Addressing the 34th convocation of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, the CJI said the profession demanded courage, humility, intellectual independence and fairness, alongside a sound command of statutes and judicial precedents.
“I am acutely aware of the weighty path you are about to embark upon, and I greet you not only with congratulations but also with immense expectation,” he said while addressing the graduating students. CJI Surya Kant is also the Chancellor of NLSIU.
Reflecting on the responsibilities awaiting the graduates, the CJI observed that legal practice required more than technical proficiency. Lawyers, he said, must possess the conviction to defend justice while remaining receptive to perspectives that may otherwise go unheard.
“I often find myself ruminating on how the legal profession is not for the faint of heart. It demands not only the mastery of statutes and precedent but also the courage to defend what is just, and the humility to listen to voices that are often unheard,” he said.
He further underscored the importance of fairness in legal reasoning, stating that intellectual independence must be accompanied by a willingness to hear all sides before reaching a conclusion.
“This intellectual independence also calls for fairness: hearing before judging, distinguishing a person from a position and disagreeing without denying another person’s dignity,” the CJI said.
Describing NLSIU as the “Harvard of the East”, CJI Surya Kant praised the institution's contribution to legal scholarship and its role in preparing students to navigate the relationship between intellectual inquiry and ethical responsibility.
Recalling the university's demanding academic culture, including early-morning classes on the Code of Civil Procedure and late-night study sessions sustained by black coffee, he described the institution as “a beacon of legal scholarship and an incubator of justice”.
The CJI observed that law was not a fixed body of rules but an evolving discipline shaped by the interpretation, conduct and engagement of those who practise it.
“The law, as you will soon discover in its living form, is not static. It breathes and evolves through the minds and actions of those who practice it,” he said.
He also characterised law school as an environment in which competing ideas and differing viewpoints contribute to a deeper understanding of justice.
“The law itself is a living conversation, one that is shaped by voices that do not always harmonise, but together create the symphony of justice,” he said.
Urging the graduating students to remain steadfast in their ethical commitments, the CJI cautioned them against sacrificing principles when confronted with professional or personal pressures.
He called upon the young lawyers to recognise that their responsibilities extended beyond the pursuit of professional success to the protection of constitutional freedoms and service to society.
“As you leave this campus, you step not only into a profession but into a calling - to be guardians of autonomy and servants of the people,” he said.
The CJI acknowledged that the legal profession would repeatedly test their ethical convictions but said it also offered the opportunity to serve a larger public purpose.
He described the satisfaction of correcting injustice, defending liberty and safeguarding the Constitution as among the most meaningful rewards of legal practice.
Drawing an analogy between a river's journey towards the sea and a lawyer's professional life, he said young advocates would have to assume the dual responsibility of navigating and safeguarding the course of justice.
The convocation ceremony also remembered Urvashi Krishnatra, an LL.B. graduate of the university who passed away before the ceremony.
Her remembrance formed a solemn part of the occasion, which celebrated the academic achievements of the graduating batch while acknowledging the personal loss associated with her absence.
The CJI's address placed ethical responsibility, constitutional fidelity and the defence of individual autonomy at the centre of the graduates' transition from legal education to professional practice.
