‘Reconsider choice’: NALSAR students urge university not to invite CJI to convocation

Students at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, have opposed inviting Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant to their upcoming convocation ceremony. About 450 students from various batches, including outgoing LLB and LLM students, have written to the university's Vice Chancellor, Registrar, and professors requesting him not to be the chief guest.

This comes after the CJI's recent comments regarding a petition against alleged police excesses during the NEET protests, where he stated that the court's time should not be "wasted."

The university has not yet announced the date of convocation or confirmed the chief guest. Traditionally, the incumbent CJI has delivered the convocation address at NALSAR. However, uncertainty about the ceremony has arisen due to the students' opposition, which may lead to the cancellation of the convocation this year, according to a faculty member.

The first representation to the university authorities was made by 70 members of the outgoing LLB batch on July 23. By July 25, 380 students from different classes (2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, and 2031) had expressed solidarity with the statement and sent separate letters to the administration. In their initial letter, the students argued that the CJI's refusal to examine videographic evidence of police brutality during the protests contradicted the university's values of constitutional rights, access to justice, and reasoned engagement with grievances.

Several batches of students wrote to the administration in the following days, expressing agreement with the concerns raised by the graduating class. The 2029 passing-out batch stated that they found themselves in agreement with the concerns articulated by the graduating batch and believed that the representation raised questions about the broader constitutional ethos that NALSAR seeks to embody.

The 2030 batch of students took a more direct stance, stating that they had "vehement opposition" to the presence of the current CJI at the convocation. They cited the CJI's past statement calling youth "parasites and cockroaches attacking the system" as an example of conduct that does not align with the values of the Constitution and the university.

Despite the CJI issuing a clarification that he had been "misquoted" and that his criticism was directed solely at those with "fake or bogus degrees," the university administration has remained tight-lipped about the situation.