Legal profession not just about a means of livelihood: Justice PS Narasimha at HNLU convocation

Supreme Court judge Justice PS Narasimha recently advised young law graduates of the Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur (HNLU) to view the legal profession and the judicial institution as more than just a means of livelihood.

Justice Narasimha explained that lawyers have to bear in mind larger challenges facing the legal institution, including the large pendency of cases before courts.

"As new graduates, you inherit the existing general practice and procedure of law which prescribe legal remedies for resolution of disputes. This area unfortunately has not kept pace with the technology and innovation of human resource. There is a gap here and there lies your challenge. A big task for you ahead. I am talking to you about our own judicial institutions, the courts and the tribunals for providing remedies for resolution of disputes. I don't need to tell you today about the large number of pendency of cases you all are well aware of it. I am here to tell you that there is a need for you to have an allegiance, to recognize that these are institutions which belong to you. They are your institutions. Etch it as deep as possible in your hearts as you enter the legal profession, that these are not areas where you enter into the profession to make a living, there is much more about the connectivity that you will have with these institutions, and you will realize that over a period of time," he said.

He urged the law graduates to devote their efforts into improving the legal institution.

"I tell you that these are institutions which you must own, improve them, make them vibrant. When I say 'make them vibrant', I mean you must ensure that the remedies that they are expected to provide must be simple, quick and effective. That is the whole purpose of dispute resolution. If two brothers want to partition their property, that dispute can't be pending in a court for twenty years. It is as simple as that," he explained.

He expressed hope that young lawyers will find innovative solutions to the issues plaguing the legal system, including through the aid of technology.

"I consider this to be a beautiful task ahead of you to make the institutions that serve us viable and effective. There is a secret here. An enduring professional satisfaction comes only when you combine professional success with the betterment of the country," he added.

The Supreme Court judge was speaking at a ceremony held on March 8 to mark the 8th convocation ceremony at HNLU. The convocation ceremony conferred degrees to 161 BA LLB students, 90 LL M students, and 1 PhD student.

Justice PS Narasimha, who is a member of HNLU's Executive Council, was the Chief Guest. During his address, he also called on young law graduates to connect with the realities of daily life. He noted that a law student's interaction with the ground realities of life is little.

"Therefore, what we need to know if we have to rectify our system, we need to know what the stakeholders are expecting ... How is their life, in which ways they are getting into disputes, how is life working out for them? These aspects are not taught in law schools. That is where you need to develop that connectivity with the nation, and without that connectivity, a lawyer is only a technocrat - you just apply the law as it is without knowing the purpose and object of it," he pointed out.

He further observed that a lot of Western information or practices have been applied in India. He cautioned against applying such practices to India without any application of mind.

He recounted that many great lawyers and judges and even the framers of India's Constitution had applied lessons learnt abroad to India, but by adapting them to India's unique needs. Justice Narasimha called on young lawyers to do the same.

"Even the constitutional fathers studied in England or America, they would apply their knowledge in a manner that was necessary. They did it because of the background that they had, they were deeply rooted. Every idea, every thought they picked up in their foreign education was filtered through their experience of what our country wanted and needed. For that matter, even Gandhi and Ambedkar acquired such knowledge, turned it around and built the Indian Constitutional framework as it suits our country. Some of our greatest judges also had foreign education but adapted it and applied it bit by bit and built the precedential law, so to say, brick by brick as they delivered their judgments. So be close to India and get to know what the needs of the people are," he said.

Another aspect flagged by Justice Narasimha was the need to ensure work-life balance in the legal profession.

"Two important facets of health are leisure and sleep ... Profession of law, unfortunately, robs us of these two pleasures. As you enter the profession, it will be easy to lose yourself in the long working hours, unpredictable working times, and very often seven-day long work weeks," he acknowledged.

He noted that loss of leisure will diminish creativity while loss of sleep would affect one's memory. Justice Narasimha, therefore, encouraged students to pick hobbies outside the legal field to balance their work and enhance their intellectual creativity.

"These interests and hobbies are what will help you grow holistically. They will offer respite from your work, enhance your intellectual creativity and, more importantly, bring you joy," he said.

Other dignitaries present at the event included Supreme Court judge Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra; Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Arun Sao; and Chief Justice of the High Court of Chhattisgarh and Chancellor of HNLU, Justice Ramesh Sinha, who conferred degrees to the graduating students.

Chhattisgarh High Court judge, Justice Sanjay K Agrawal, Telangana High Court, Justice P Sam Koshy, and Former Director, National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, Justice G Raghuram were also among the guests of honour at the event.

36 gold medals were awarded to outstanding students at the ceremony, including 10 UG and 3 PG students, for their exceptional academic performance.

Radha Rai Chaudhary received 18 gold medals and was awarded the best graduating student award.

The ceremony also saw the unveiling of two volumes of the HNLU Journal of Law and Social Sciences, Editions 3 and 4 of the HNLU gazette, and a university publication of an edited book on Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and Fintech Measures edited by Dr Debmita Mandal, Abhinav K Shukla, and Mayank Srivastav.

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