Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday said that "certain external forces" had created uncertainty over the 34th annual convocation of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru, revealing that at one point it seemed the ceremony might not go ahead as planned. The remark, made in his convocation address as the university's Chancellor, has drawn wide attention given the recent turbulence surrounding the prestigious institution.
Addressing the graduating students, the CJI said: "A few unexpected and unfortunate circumstances, driven by certain external forces, brought with them a sense of uncertainty, and for a while, it seemed that this occasion might not unfold quite as we had hoped."
He did not name the forces or detail the circumstances, but the comment was widely seen as an acknowledgement of the difficult weeks the institution has weathered. Despite the turbulence, the convocation was held as scheduled on Saturday, with degrees conferred on the graduating batch in the presence of faculty members, dignitaries and the families of the graduates.
Justice Kant went on to praise the students for rising above what he called "the murmurs of obstruction". He said the graduating batch had shown that the spirit of conviction is not easily subdued, choosing to uphold open discourse over what he described as "the cowardice of suppression".
"Yet, this sea of meritorious students has shown that the spirit of conviction is not so easily subdued," the CJI said, adding that the students had demonstrated how the will of an honest multitude can "outshine the schemes of a dishonest few."
Much of the address was devoted to the demands of the legal profession. The Chief Justice told the graduates that the law is not for the faint-hearted, and that it requires not only 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.
"I often find myself ruminating on how the legal profession is not for the faint of heart," he said, urging the young lawyers to prize intellectual independence alongside fairness.
"This intellectual independence also calls for fairness: hearing before judging, distinguishing a person from a position and disagreeing without denying another person's dignity," he added. He described law school as a place where ideas collide, saying its purpose lies in meeting people who see the world differently, and told the graduates that a relentless pursuit of honesty would cement their professional reputation.
The CJI advised the graduates to value the evolving nature of law and to reject shortcuts, emphasising that the law breathes and evolves through the minds and actions of those who practise it. The cases they argue, the contracts they draft, the advice they give and the judgments they write, he said, would all contribute to the larger architecture of justice in the nation.
The ceremony was attended by several dignitaries, including Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court Vibhu Bakhru and NLSIU Vice-Chancellor Sudhir Krishnaswamy. Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, in his remarks on the occasion, urged the graduates to see law not merely as a profession but as a responsibility to uphold the Constitution, protect the rights of every citizen, and ensure that justice is accessible, affordable and timely.
The Chief Minister also announced measures to strengthen Karnataka's legal ecosystem, including a Start-up Law Clinic at NLSIU to provide pro bono legal assistance to young entrepreneurs, a dedicated institute for judicial service examination training, and continuing education programmes for young lawyers.
Justice Surya Kant's reference to "external forces" is likely to fuel discussion in legal and academic circles, particularly since the institution has been in the news in recent weeks. The CJI, who also serves as the university's Chancellor, has presided over the convocation in that capacity, and his words carried the weight of both offices.
Legal observers noted that the Chief Justice's emphasis on open discourse, intellectual independence and resistance to suppression appeared to connect the convocation's own recent challenges to the broader values the legal profession must defend. The address, delivered in measured terms, stopped short of assigning blame — but its message to the graduates was unmistakable: the law school, and the profession it feeds, must not be cowed by pressure from outside.
NLSIU, Bengaluru, is widely regarded as India's premier law school and has produced generations of leading lawyers, judges and scholars. Its convocation is among the most-watched events in Indian legal education, and this year's edition will be remembered as much for the Chief Justice's candid remarks as for the degrees conferred.
The CJI's words also arrive at a moment when the relationship between institutions of higher learning and the broader public discourse is under close scrutiny. Universities across the country have, in recent years, found themselves at the centre of debates over academic freedom, the limits of dissent and the responsibilities of institutional leadership.
Justice Kant's decision to speak openly about the pressures the convocation faced — rather than gloss over them — is likely to be read as a deliberate signal that the judiciary will not look away when the spaces where ideas are debated come under strain.
Convocation addresses by Chief Justices of India have often served as platforms for reflections on the state of the republic, and Justice Kant's speech fits that tradition. Past CJIs have used the pulpit to speak about judicial pendency, access to justice and the ethics of advocacy. What made Saturday's address stand out was its directness about the institution's own recent troubles — an unusual moment of institutional candour from the highest judicial office in the land.
As the graduating batch steps into courtrooms, chambers and corporate offices across the country, the CJI's parting counsel — to defend what is just, to hear before judging, and to let honesty anchor their reputations — will travel with them. The convocation went ahead as planned; the uncertainty, the Chief Justice made clear, was real, but so was the resolve that overcame it.
The degrees conferred on Saturday thus carried, along with academic distinction, a quiet lesson in institutional resilience.
(Reporting based on Bar & Bench, The Times of India and ANI.)