NV Ramana - The Constitution is meant for every citizen and every individual must be aware of their rights and duties.

 

The Chief Justice of India while speaking at the 5^th Convocation ceremony at Hidayatullah National Law university at Raipur on Sunday,  urged the newly enrolled law graduates to explain constitutional provisions in simpler terms to the common citizens so as to enable them to assimilate its ethos because the knowledge of the Constitution is limited to only law students, legal practitioners and a very small segment of the Indian population. The Constitution is meant for every citizen and every individual must be aware of their rights and duties.

He further urged the law graduates to become active members of the communities and be the voice for the voiceless and to weigh the equities in the world of rising inequities as trained for.

“A lawyer need to be an all-rounder, a leader and a change maker” – he added.

“You must be the beacon of social justice. I would also like to take this opportunity to request all of you to use the skills you have learnt in the University to further goals of justice. The most vulnerable are ofent the victims of human rights violations, either by the State or by anti-social elements. As young advocates, you are best places to strongly oppose the same through legal action” – he added.

He said “ a constitutional republic shall only thrive when its citizens are aware of what their Constitution lays down and it is the collective duty of legal fraternity to promote the constitutional culture and raise awareness”

He also encouraged the law graduates to take up as many pro-bono cases as possible in their early year of practice.

 

“Law school education must turn graduates into social engineers because the law is an instrument of social change”

He also threw light on the autobiography of, Justice Hidayatullah where he states that his practice was built slowly and steadily but through his hard work, he established a credible reputation in the bar and the society.

 

He also said a word of advice to the graduates –

“ a lawyer must be capable of dealing with a simple suit as well as disputes relating to intellectual property right, from issues of constitutional importance to IT related crimes. Your clients may expect you to be aware about different facets of business, society or even sports. A lawyer need to be an allrounder, a leader and a changemaker”