By Sanjay Raman Sinha
When the head of the Indian judiciary steps out of his courtroom and engages in a no-holds-barred interaction with the young law fraternity, it is time to sit up and take notice.
In a significant first, the Supreme Court has launched a Monthly Lecture Series on Law, Justice and Legal Education, along with the Annual Supreme Court Nyaya Shiksha Samman. The initiative seeks to build bridges with the legal community, law students and researchers, fostering an interactive legal ecosystem grounded in scholarship and empathy.
It also aims to build rapport with a young generation that has just stepped into the profession—a generation with questions that need straight answers and ideas that need a sounding board. What better than a chief justice to mentor and guide them through this formative journey?
Chief Justices and judges rarely indulge in two-way public conversations. They are generally more comfortable delivering speeches from podiums. Their monologues are often treated as windows into the abstruse workings of the judiciary. Their comments provoke discussion and dissent. But engaging an eager and questioning young audience in an unscripted discussion has never really been the endeavour of judges.
The social distance has thus remained firmly in place. The judiciary has, in effect, remained separated by invisible ramparts from the very people it seeks to include in its own professional cadre.
Chief Justice Of India Surya Kant wants to change that.
The Supreme Court initiative also marks a shift in how the Indian judiciary understands its public role—from a Court that speaks primarily through its judgments to one that also explains, listens and invites challenge. Welcoming dissent and uncomfortable questions in an impromptu public forum, and responding to clear doubts, is a challenge the chief justice has accepted.
For a first-generation lawyer who has traversed the long, dusty path from hinterland Haryana to the highest judicial office in India, the endeavour is particularly significant. It carries a message of hope for countless young people who aspire to find a place in the judicial firmament without a godfather.
During an open-house interaction with law students at Chanakya National Law University (CNLU), Patna, the chief Justice emphasised that being a first-generation lawyer should not, in itself, be viewed as a disadvantage. He also spoke about the need for an institutional ecosystem capable of supporting young lawyers during the initial years of practice.
Clearly, his own struggle has made his empathy with first-generation lawyers more profound—and more authentic.
At a time when revered national institutions are increasingly viewed with suspicion and distrust, the chief justice’s interactive classroom seeks to dissolve some of that distance and misunderstanding. Gen Z can question the supposedly “unapproachable” judiciary about its commissions and omissions.
At the Patna interaction, when asked about police brutality against peacefully protesting students, the CJI affirmed that the right to peaceful protest is constitutionally guaranteed. He noted that such rights do not require anyone’s permission and that courts have consistently upheld and enforced them whenever they have been obstructed.
Such heart-to-heart conversations can do more than dispel myths. They can expose the rationale and thought processes behind judicial thinking, allaying fears and potentially fostering deeper public trust in the judiciary.
The Monthly Lecture Series has been conceived around the theme, “One Important Idea, Every Month.” Eminent jurists, scholars, legal educationists and experts will address significant questions concerning law, justice and society.
Each lecture will be followed by an “Ideas Dialogue”, enabling young advocates, law students and researchers to engage directly with the speaker, raise questions and share their perspectives.
For his outstanding contribution to legal education, Professor Ranbir Singh was honoured with the inaugural Supreme Court Nyaya Shiksha Samman.
The Supreme Court Bar Association has partnered the Monthly Lecture Series.
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