Law Seeks To Displace Tyranny With Accountability: Justice DY Chandrachud

Supreme Court Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was invited as the Guest of Honour for the Ninth Annual Convocation of National Law University, Odisha. In his address, Justice Chandrachud stated that society could survive and be stable so long as law encouraged inclusion and plurality.

On being welcomed by a huge round of applause by the students, Justice Chandrachud said– "You really made my day by this wonderful applause. What more can a judge expect in life! Thank you!"

He commenced his address by stating that attending convocations made him reach out to his own faculty who inspired him in life and relate to his own parents. He paid tribute to his mother stating–

"My own mother who probably spent years and years of nights awake so that the child could see a better day...So through you, I reach out to those who have shaped my own life."

In his address, Justice Chandrachud described "the craft of law" as a discipline which bought reason. He further urged students to not just learn the law but also understand how to think about the law. He stated–

"What does the law bring us as a discipline? The law as a discipline brings us reason, we reason with each other, we don't physically wrestle with each other and we don't offload firearms when we are in conflict with each other. We reason with each other. The law tells you about a dialogue- that different elements of society, different groups in society, different groups within families, within businesses, within communities, will enter into a dialogue about the law. In other words, what law seeks to do is to displace tyranny with accountability. The law challenges arbitrariness with a culture for respect of rights. The law in that sense is a very vital element in our society because our society can survive and be stable so long as law encourages inclusion and plurality. When we respect the fact that each of us have differing views and we respect those views. We don't tolerate those views, tolerance in my view is a difficult term– to tolerate someone, it means you don't like them but you respect people for the views which they possess, even those views which do not accord with your own views."

He further stated that as lawyers, students would appear for the law abiding and might even appear for those who have no respect for law. He stated that this was the great learning that law taught anyone– the diversity of human experience. He urged students to consider opting for litigation in their professional lives. He said–

"I hope that some of you will take to litigation. I do understand it is for everyone in society. There are uncertainties in the practice of law in the court of law. You have to have the stay in power which everybody may not necessarily have. Some young students who are my law clerks always tell me that they have loans to pay which they've incurred to study in national universities. Therefore, many students join, not what I feel is the mainstream, but go into transactional lawyering."

Justice Chandrachud also referred to women graduates and stated that they were to be the future role models of the society. He said–

"Many of you here are women...You are going to be role models of the future of Indian society. You are going to be harbingers of change in our society. You will have to confront the patriarchal mindsets which govern our society. 'This is what a woman should do, this is what a woman shouldn't do, this is what a man should not do'– you will have to challenge these values and lead our society to a better future. So in a sense, the world today really lies within half or more of our population, which is you young women lawyers who will be the agents of change in the Indian society in the future."

He further stated that living in an information technology age had given everyone a short attention span. He added–

"We also live in information bubbles. We read what we like to read, we don't read what we dislike to read. We do not consider view points with which we don't agree with. So this is the product of the age of information in which we live. That is a great danger of our age- the danger of our wanting to associate with like minded people. I would implore all of you to associate with of course like minded people, but also people who are not as like minded as you are. Because you will learn a great deal from people who think differently, who dress differently, who eat differently, who believe differently or who don't believe in you at all. So please do remember to associate with others who are not necessarily of the same genre as you are."

He also implored students to move from the spectrum of information to the spectrum of knowledge and then to the spectrum of vision, which would then help them achieve their true potential. He concluded his address by stating–

"Challenge the familiar, aspire for what lies beyond your reach and ask questions. It is only in asking questions you can demand accountability."