‘First duty is to fight the system’: Advocates, judges tell law students to put Constitution first

When Ananya Chaudhary of Gujarat National Law University asked however courts should respond erstwhile nationalist morality appears to clash with law morality astatine Justice Unplugged by The Hindu Group and VIT Chennai, Senior Advocate Karuna Nundy drew a wide line. Public morality and nationalist interest, she said, are distinct. Courts are constitutionally bound to uphold nationalist involvement and law morality. “The mob is not thing that should pass a judgment,” she said, cautioning that majoritarian sentiment cannot override law guarantees.

Constitutional morality, judicial accountability, artificial quality successful ineligible signifier and the ethical responsibilities of young lawyers dominated discussions astatine Justice Unplugged 2026, wherever young lawyers and instrumentality students engaged elder members of the Bar connected the changing quality of instrumentality and justness successful India.

On whether young lawyers are progressively drawn to wealth and power, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal said the assemblage demands courageousness and commitment. “Your archetypal work is to combat the strategy successful each imaginable way,” helium said. Lawyers indispensable basal up erstwhile cardinal rights are violated. “If someone’s rights are infringed and you interest astir wealth alternatively of warring for that person, the state volition not change,” helium added.

Responding to a question from the assemblage connected the Supreme Court’s caller absorption expressing interest implicit a Class 8 NCERT section connected “corruption successful the judiciary”, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who said helium is counsel successful the matter, described the section arsenic “incomplete” and “selective”. “Suddenly, retired of the blue, determination were 2 pages connected judicial matters,” helium said, arguing that isolating the judiciary without contextualising corruption crossed institutions risked unfairly targeting an instauration that has historically acted arsenic a bulwark against authorities excess and a defender of liberty.

Saurabh, a pupil astatine the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, asked however judges successful the little courts tin beryllium sensitised to societal realities. Justice S. Muralidhar said judges travel from divers backgrounds and whitethorn not ever person vulnerability to the intersection of instrumentality and poverty. Training programmes, situation visits and tract vulnerability signifier portion of judicial orientation, helium noted.

But deeper alteration requires sustained self-education. “If a lawyer has prejudices astir people, past helium volition not beryllium capable to look astatine them arsenic quality beings,” helium said. Emphasising the relation of intelligence discipline, helium added, “The qualities don’t travel overnight. It comes with changeless reading. The much you read, the much refined your questions volition be.”