Law itself a living conversation: CJI Surya Kant

Chief Justice of India (CJI) and Chancellor of National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, Surya Kant, delivering the 34th convocation of NLSIU on Saturday (October 17, 2026), said the purpose of legal education “rests in the invigorating experience of encountering those who see the world differently than we do.” 

Earlier, the convocation, which was scheduled to be held on September 12, was postponed after students and alumni of NLSIU, Bengaluru, came out in support of students at NALSAR, Hyderabad, opposing CJI Surya Kant at the convocation over his remarks on the youth of the country. His remarks in open court, which he clarified later, sparked the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) movement. However, the convocation held on October 17 went off peacefully, with no protests or any untoward incidents.

Law a living conversation

Elaborating on the idea of law as encountering different points of view, Justice Surya Kant said, “Within the halls, we sit beside people whose backgrounds, beliefs, and interpretations challenge our own. Each time we listen to perspectives that diverge from ours, we are reminded that the law itself is a living conversation, shaped by voices that do not always harmonise, but together create the symphony of justice. It is your relentless pursuit of honesty which will cement your professional reputation.”

Asking the students to uphold the Constitution and its values, he said, “Law will change your patience, test your ethics, and call upon the deepest reserves of your courage, but it will also reward you with a singular joy of service, the serene satisfaction of righting a wrong, the pride of defending liberty, and the honour of upholding the Constitution.”

“The cases you are on, the contracts you brought, the advice you give at the judgments you write, will all contribute to the larger architecture of justice in our nation,” he said, telling students that as they left the campus, they “step not only into profession, but into a calling to be guardians of autonomy and servants of the people.”