Threatening students for asking questions is misuse of power: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan

The remarks come after the Bar Council of India, in a now-withdrawn directive issued in August, asked the state bar councils not to enrol the graduating batch of the NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad. The BCI directive followed a campaign opposing Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s proposed participation in the university’s convocation. Days later, National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, cancelled its convocation following objections to the CJI’s participation.

Different views

Justice Bhuyan said legal education must equip students not only with knowledge of the law but also with the ability to question established assumptions and examine whether the law, in a given situation, has served the cause of justice. An academic environment, he said, does not require everyone to reach the same conclusion and must allow different views to be expressed, examined and debated.

Speaking about dissent in a constitutional democracy, Justice Bhuyan said, “A democratic society cannot be built on the edifice that everyone will think alike. It is built on the understanding that differences will exist and that those differences must be accommodated within the broader constitutional framework,” he said.

He said the Constitution “does not seek uniformity of thought” and instead creates a framework in which people with different beliefs and opinions can participate in public life with equal dignity.

“Constitutional democracy therefore requires the state to listen to the citizens, the citizens to listen to one another, to have institutions that are accountable and a society that does not treat every dissent as a threat,” he said.

Describing tolerance as a constitutional value, Justice Bhuyan said democracy becomes meaningful when different voices can coexist and be heard with dignity. He added that the strength of a democracy is reflected not only in how it treats popular opinions but also in how it responds to unpopular or inconvenient views.

He said, “An intolerant mind, by its very nature, is at odds with the spirit of the Constitution. It is a manifestation of another form of violence.”

He said the Constitution protects the freedom to speak, think and believe differently, and that intolerance begins to undermine that framework when dissent is treated as something that must be “silenced, rejected or punished.”

Universities starting point for independent thought

Calling universities the starting point for independent thought, Justice Bhuyan said that these were institutions not merely responsible for transferring knowledge but spaces where ideas could be examined and questioned through debate.

“If we want a democratic society that respects liberty and difference, that culture has to begin from the universities,” he said.

“For a student of law, these ideas cannot remain merely academic. The law constantly places us in situations where one person’s freedom may appear to conflict with another, where the exercise of power must be balanced against individual rights, and where an established position may have to be examined in the light of constitutional principles,” he said.