'We Must Shed Excessive Deference to Authority’: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan

Justice Bhuyan's remarks came at the 13th convocation event at NLU Delhi for the LLM programmes.

The Wire Staff

Justice Bhuyan's remarks came at the 13th convocation event at NLU Delhi for the LLM programmes.

we must shed excessive deference to authority’ justice ujjal bhuyan

Supreme Court of India Judge, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has underlined the role of law universities and said that there is a need to "shed excessive deference" to authority including the judiciary, while saying that universities are ideas where there is an exchange of ideas and a healthy academic environment does not require everyone to arrive at the same conclusion.

"Initially, I had thought of saying, but struck it down, that we must shed our excessive deference to authority, be it generally or the judiciary in particular. But again that's another topic we will discuss another day, not the convocation,"Justice Bhuyan was quoted as saying by Live Law.

Justice Bhuyan's remarks came at the 13th convocation event at NLU Delhi for the LLM programmes on Sunday (August 30). He said that universities are ideas where there is an exchange of ideas and a healthy academic environment does not require everyone to arrive at the same conclusion.

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

"A university, in my view, should be one of the first places where the habit of thinking freely begins. It should be a space where an idea is not accepted merely because it is familiar, and where students do not hesitate to ask difficult questions simply because the answer may be uncomfortable..."

Justice Bhuyan's remarks come in the backdrop of Bar Council of India chairman and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Manan Kumar Mishra facing calls for his resignation after he attempted to ban an entire batch of Nalsar University of Law students.

Students of law universities, including Nalsar and NLSIU Bangalore, had demanded an unconditional apology from Mishra for his remarks about them and the action he had sought to take against the graduating batch of 2026, after a section of them opposed inviting Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to their convocation.

The directive to not enrol students was later withdrawn by Mishra.

This article went live on August thirtieth, two thousand twenty six, at thirteen minutes past five in the evening.

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