CJI Gavai urges lawyers to uphold integrity, mental health, and inclusion
CJI was delivering the convocation address at the 22nd Annual Convocation of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad today.
During his address he urged the legal fraternity to uphold integrity, remain grounded in legal fundamentals, seek mentorship, and prioritise mental well-being.
Praising NALSAR's journey since its inception in 1998, Justice Gavai described the institution as a beacon of legal scholarship in South Asia.
'NALSAR has carved a distinct identity not just in India but across the region, with its academic excellence and commitment to the spirit of law,' he said, highlighting its research in areas like disability rights, gender justice, tribal rights, law and technology, and constitutional governance.
He acknowledged the achievements of NALSAR alumni many of whom subsequently became senior advocates in the High Courts and the Supreme Court, legal scholars, policy experts, and international researchers. 'Today, you are not just receiving degrees- you are joining a living tradition of impact and integrity,' he told the graduates.
Justice Gavai offered candid advice about the challenges of the legal profession. 'It is noble and important- but never easy. You will often question yourself and face pressures, but your belief, persistence, and presence will keep you going,' he said.
Highlighting the often-overlooked issue of mental health, he called it a vital strategy for survival in the legal world. 'This profession can be emotionally isolating and mentally demanding. Self-care is not indulgence—it is preservation,' he said, quoting activist Audre Lorde.
He also addressed structural inequalities in the legal system. Citing global research, he noted that access to opportunity often depends more on institutional pedigree than on merit. 'This is unfair, but real. We must confront this reality without accepting it,' he said, urging the profession to become more inclusive and equitable.
Encouraging students to build strong legal foundations, he emphasised the importance of mastering the basics- constitutional law, contract law, civil and criminal procedure. 'There is no shortcut to legal excellence,' he said. 'Trends will come and go, but clarity in fundamentals will carry you through.'
Speaking on mentorship, he called it a game-changer. 'Not everything can be learned from books or judgments. Some lessons are passed on through conversation, guidance, and encouragement,' he said. 'Seek mentors with integrity, and one day, become a mentor yourself.'
Justice Gavai also advised students to carefully consider foreign education. 'A foreign degree is not a stamp of worth. Do not put yourself or your family under financial stress for validation,' he said, advocating for thoughtful planning over peer pressure.
Calling for investment in India's postgraduate legal education and research, he said, 'We must build nurturing academic ecosystems that retain and welcome talent, restore dignity to legal research, and offer transparent opportunities.'
He ended his address with heartfelt advice to the graduates: 'Never ignore five things- friends, family, books, hobbies, health, and imagination. The law is not just a profession- it is a canvas to express, reform, and heal.'
The convocation was presided over by Justice Sujoy Paul, Acting Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court and Chancellor of NALSAR. Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Supreme Court Judge Justice P S Narasimha graced the ceremony as Guests of Honour.
Several other judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, along with Telangana Ministers, were present at the convocation, celebrating the achievements of graduating students, postgraduates, and Ph.D. scholars.
UNI VV RKM
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
18 minutes ago
- Time of India
25% Import Tariff On Indian Goods: The Art Of The No Deal
The Art Of The No Deal Ajay Srivastava Updated: Jul 30, 2025, 21:26 IST IST That India didn't blink on a trade pact with US is (1) good for core interests like protecting farmers and (2) not as bad as it sounds given what countries that have buckled have had to concede to Trump Months of speculation over the India-US trade deal ended last evening with a blunt announcement from Trump on Truth Social. Starting Aug 1, all Indian goods entering US will face a 25% import tariff, plus an additional penalty. This new tariff regime will apply even to goods already in transit. An apparel item that previously attracted a 12% tariff will now face 12% + 25% + a-yet-to-be-disclosed penalty.
Mint
33 minutes ago
- Mint
India blocks over 1,400 URLs for spreading misleading content and digital propaganda
The Indian government blocked more than 1,400 URLs on digital platforms during Operation Sindoor, most of which were linked to Pakistan-based social media accounts allegedly circulating misleading and anti-India narratives. This action was disclosed by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written response in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. According to Vaishnaw, the flagged online content included false information, provocative material aimed at the Indian Armed Forces, and communally sensitive posts. Many of these social media accounts were reportedly operating from outside India and were found to be actively engaged in spreading disinformation during the course of the military operation. The blocking orders were issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which empowers the government to restrict online content in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of the country, national defence, state security, and public order. In addition to blocking URLs, the government also issued an advisory to media outlets urging them to avoid broadcasting live visuals of defence activities and troop movements. This measure was taken to safeguard operational secrecy and national security. A 24x7 control room was set up during the operation to facilitate coordination between different arms of the military and government media units. This centralised hub included representatives from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, along with officials from the Press Information Bureau (PIB) and other related departments. The unit ensured real-time updates were disseminated across media stakeholders. Moreover, a dedicated fact-checking team under the PIB played a key role in monitoring social media and digital news platforms throughout the operation. The team was tasked with identifying fake images, edited videos, and manipulated narratives that misrepresented the facts surrounding Operation Sindoor. It also countered various instances of propaganda, particularly those targeting Indian security forces. Fact-checked reports and debunked claims were circulated promptly, and links related to false information were shared to counter the spread of misinformation online, the minister informed Parliament.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
With 25% tariff & threat of Russia sanctions, Trump dashes hope of being India's top partner
With 25% tariff and the threat of further penalties over the trade with Russia, President Donald Trump has dashed the hope of many in the country that he would be India's best friend in his second term. The all-round progress in the India-US relationship under the past four years now stands at risk of being undone. read more US President Donald Trump stands, after delivering remarks on tariffs, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 2, 2025. Reuters With 25 per cent tariff on imports from India amid delay in the much-awaited bilateral trade agreement and the threat of further penalties over Indian imports from Russia, US President Donald Trump has posed a fresh challenge to burgeoning India-US trade ties, effectively creating an environment marked by scepticism and coercion that might undo years of progress in bilateral ties. In a post on Truth Social, Trump on Wednesday announced a two-pronged assault on India. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Firstly, he used the trade deficit as a premise to slap 25 per cent tariff on India. Secondly, using the same language as Senator Lindsey Graham who has threatened to hit the Indian economy with a sledgehammer, he blamed India for funding the Russian war on Ukraine and threatened additional penalties. India remains the largest buyer of Russian energy along with China 'at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine' and India will therefore pay a penalty starting August 1, said Trump. At a time when India is facing an ever-growing Pakistan-China nexus, what India needs is a reliable partner in the Washington DC. Instead, with his actions, Trump has compromised decades of bipartisan efforts to improve the bilateral relationship and replace trust with suspicion and grudges. Trump shakes foundations of India-US ties Trump's two-pronged assault on India is the starkest display of his irreverence to the principle of mutuality that has been one of the defining features of the India-US relationship. For decades, India respected US concerns and US presidents respected India's red lines. Apparently, that tradition ended on January 20. In his second term, Trump has crossed every red line that India has maintained for decades: he has meddled in the Kashmir dispute, hyphenated India and Pakistan, sided with the jihadists in India's extended neighbourhood, and imposed tariffs and threatened secondary tariffs over the trade with Russia. ALSO READ — Beyond Pakistan: Trump's open embrace of jihadist forces across Asia a new headache for India Unlike previous American administrations that pursued a mutually-beneficial relationship with India, there now exists a trust deficit in the bilateral relationship under President Trump as he does not care what India —or any other partner for that matter— wants and pursues a 'my way or the highway' approach, says Prof. Swasti Rao, who teaches geopolitics at the Jindal School of International Affairs, Jindal Global University. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'This is why he has ignored all the sensibilities of India whether it is the Kashmir issue, the India-Pakistan conflict, or the issue of agriculture and dairy in trade talks. He has complicated the India-US relationship that had been on an upward trajectory not just bilaterally but also multilaterally — look at the progress with Quad and IMEC in the past few years. Now, instead of taking the relationship forward, the focus will be on containing the fallout,' says Rao, who is also a Non-Resident Fellow at the Paris-based think tank Eastern Circles. Trump takes India on a bumpy ride Under the previous Joe Biden administration, US officials occasionally expressed concerns about India's purchase of Russian oil and touched issues of human rights. More often than not, those were acts of pandering to the domestic base that did little to slow the progress of the bilateral relationship. Biden joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi to turn Quad into the fulcrum to counter China in the Indo-Pacific. He joined hands with India to float the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) as an ambitious connectivity and geostrategic initiative. He brought India closer to Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the I2U2 initiative. Bilaterally, the two countries expanded ties in security, intelligence, scientific, and defence industrial domains. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While Biden followed the trend set by Barack Obama, George W Bush, and Bill Clinton before him in taking forward the progress in bilateral ties, Trump has threatened to undo that progress by pulling India into a bumpy ride in the upcoming years — and tariffs are just one of the ways. Some of the blame lies with New Delhi as well. 'There has been a misreading of Trump in New Delhi. He was not the one-stop solution that many thought he would be. There is no easy way to manage him,' says Rao, the geopolitical expert at JISA. What's the road ahead for India-US ties? India cannot replicate templates that other countries have followed to handle Trump. India's approach to international relations and standing in the world neither allows it to appease Trump by offering him military bases, natural resources, or the Nobel Prize or Nishan-e-Haidar like Pakistan nor pursue the 'Daddy' approach of Nato chief Mark Rutte. India will have to figure its own template. 'India has been non-confrontational so far and rightly so. The only way to steer the India-US relationship is to not be confrontational, manage President Trump's ego, smoothen any wrinkles in the relations quietly, and stabilise other theatres like Pakistan and China. India, or any country for that matter, cannot manage many crises at once. India will likely need to come up with a lighter version of Mr Rutte's approach where you don't stoop too low but manage his ego just enough to get your interests secured,' says Rao, a consulting editor at The Print. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As for the tariffs, Rao says that nothing is certain with President Trump as he can still make a deal and negotiations are ongoing. 'The best-case scenario will be that India gets a trade deal and tariff comes down and India does not get any secondary tariffs or sanctions over the Russian war on Ukraine. The worst-case scenario will be that the 25 per cent tariff continues and India also gets exposed to secondary tariffs or sanctions under the Graham-Blumenthal proposal. In the short term, the focus should be to avoid this,' says Rao.
