College students can’t be threatened or subjected to punitive motion merely for expressing views that differ from these in positions of authority, Supreme Courtroom Justice Ujjal Bhuyan mentioned, stressing that the correct to query is central to democratic citizenship.
Talking on the LLM convocation of the Nationwide Regulation College, Delhi, Justice Bhuyan mentioned, “In a democracy, the correct to query is just not an act of defiance. It’s a vital expression of citizenship, liberty and constitutional duty.”
“So when college students specific a unique viewpoint, when college students ask questions, they can’t be threatened. They can’t be threatened with punitive motion. That’s unconstitutional. That’s misuse of energy and workplace,” he mentioned.
His remarks come in opposition to the backdrop of the controversy at Hyderabad’s NALSAR College of Regulation, the place college students had objected to the proposed participation of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on the college’s convocation over the CJI’s remarks on pupil protest violence.
The dispute escalated after the BCI initially directed that State Bar Councils mustn’t enrol graduates of NALSAR’s 2026 batch pending an inquiry into the scholar marketing campaign. After a lot backlash, the BCI withdrew the letter. The Supreme Courtroom subsequently questioned the BCI’s motion and directed that no punitive steps be taken in opposition to the scholars or college.
The controversy subsequently spilled over to Nationwide Regulation Faculty of India College in Bengaluru, when the outgoing college students objected to the proposed participation of the CJI and the BCI chairman on the college’s 2026 convocation.
Following that, NLSIU cancelled its Convocation, citing “unavoidable circumstances”, and mentioned that the scholars can be awarded levels “in absentia”.
Towards this backdrop, Justice Bhuyan emphasised that constitutional democracy doesn’t demand settlement or uniformity of thought.
“Our Structure doesn’t search uniformity of thought. It creates a framework through which folks with totally different beliefs, opinions and convictions can dwell with equal dignity and take part in a standard democratic life,” he mentioned.
Stressing the significance of tolerating dissent, Justice Bhuyan mentioned : “A democratic society can’t be constructed on the edifice that everybody will suppose alike. It’s constructed on the understanding that variations will exist and that these variations have to be accommodated inside the broader constitutional framework. Our Structure provides this concept of tolerance a deeper that means. It doesn’t ask us to give up our individuality. It acknowledges {that a} free society will include totally different opinions, beliefs and methods of trying on the world. The liberty to precise an opinion, to disagree with the prevailing view and to take part in public life can be significant solely when there may be house for dissent.”
Illiberal thoughts at odds with the Structure
An illiberal thoughts is basically at odds with the spirit of the Structure and intolerance itself can turn into “one other type of violence”, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan mentioned, stressing that disagreement and dissent can’t be handled as grounds for silencing or punishing college students.
“An illiberal thoughts, by its very nature, is at odds with the spirit of the Structure. It’s a manifestation of one other type of violence. India is the land of Buddha and Gandhi. India is the land of peace and tolerance. There is no such thing as a place for violence in our society. Our Structure protects the liberty to talk, to suppose and to imagine otherwise. Intolerance begins to undermine that framework when disagreement or dissent is not handled as a reputable distinction of opinion, however as one thing that have to be silenced, rejected or punished.”
Universities should encourage free considering
If we wish a democratic society that respects liberty and distinction, that tradition has to start in universities, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan mentioned, stressing that establishments of upper studying have to be areas the place college students are inspired to suppose freely, query established positions and interact with troublesome concepts.
“If we wish a democratic society that respects liberty and distinction, that tradition has to start from the colleges. A college, in my opinion, needs to be one of many first locations the place the behavior of considering freely begins. It needs to be an area the place an thought is just not accepted merely as a result of it’s acquainted, and the place college students doesn’t hesitate to ask troublesome questions just because the reply could also be uncomfortable…The legislation consistently locations us in conditions the place one particular person’s freedom might seem to battle with one other, the place the train of energy have to be balanced in opposition to particular person rights, and the place a longtime place might must be examined within the gentle of constitutional rules.”
Justice Bhuyan ended his handle by underscoring the bigger duty of the authorized career and academia in preserving constitutional values. “The position of a authorized skilled or authorized educational is subsequently not merely to know what the legislation says, however to grasp the values that give the legislation its legitimacy. Liberty, equality, dignity and justice usually are not summary phrases in our Structure. The duty of the authorized career and authorized students is to make sure that even in moments of disagreement, even in moments of dissent, even in moments of battle, these constitutional values stay on the core of our understanding of legislation,” he mentioned.
