CJI Surya Kant Launches Monthly Lecture Series, Nyaya Shiksha Samman At Supreme Court To Promote Legal Education

Addressing the inaugural programme, CJI Surya Kant said the legal profession needed occasions to step back from the immediate demands of litigation and reflect on the ideas that sustain the legal system.

“Every profession has moments when it must pause from the demands of practice and reflect upon the ideas that sustain it,” he said.

The CJI said the legal profession, in particular, depended on such reflection as law was continuously tested against changing circumstances, emerging questions and the aspirations of society.

He said the initiative had been conceived to create a space for “conversation and reflection” and would bring a distinguished jurist, scholar, legal educationist or expert to the Supreme Court every month to examine an important question beyond the immediate demands of adjudication.

“One important idea, every month,” CJI Surya Kant said, explaining the central idea behind the lecture series.

He emphasised that while courts must remain focused on deciding cases and lawyers on advancing arguments, the legal system also benefited from opportunities to reflect on the larger ideas shaping law and its administration.

The monthly lectures will also be accompanied by an “Ideas Dialogue”, providing young advocates, law students and researchers an opportunity to interact with the speakers and place their questions and perspectives before them.

“I hope that this will become an important feature of the programme, synchronizing the courtroom and the classroom,” the CJI said.

Nyaya Shiksha Samman to recognise contribution to legal education

The Monthly Lecture Series has been launched alongside the Supreme Court Nyaya Shiksha Samman, an annual honour recognising distinguished contributions to legal education.

CJI Surya Kant said the strength of the legal system depended considerably on the quality of its judges, advocates, scholars and administrators, while emphasising the role played by teachers in preparing successive generations of legal professionals.

“Behind every generation of legal professionals stands a generation of teachers who gave them their first understanding of the law, introduced them to its methods and values, and encouraged them to think critically and independently,” he said.

The CJI described the Nyaya Shiksha Samman as an acknowledgement of teaching as a form of public service, noting that students trained by teachers would ultimately shoulder responsibility for interpreting, practising and developing the law.

Personal connection with teaching

CJI Surya Kant also spoke about his personal connection with the teaching profession, recalling that his father had spent his working life as a teacher. “My father spent his working life as a teacher, and I grew up seeing the discipline, preparation, and commitment that teaching requires,” he said.

Recalling a lesson from his childhood, the CJI said his family often emphasised that “shiksha hi sabse bada dhan hai”, meaning education is the greatest wealth a person can possess. He said the thought had particular relevance to the legal profession, where learning did not end with the completion of a law degree.

“The law continues to evolve, new questions continue to emerge, and every Judge, lawyer, and academician remains, in one form or another, a student of the discipline,” he said.

Prof. Ranbir Singh named inaugural awardee

Prof. Ranbir Singh was conferred the inaugural Supreme Court Nyaya Shiksha Samman for his contribution to legal education.

CJI Surya Kant highlighted Prof. Singh's role as the founding Vice-Chancellor of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, and subsequently of National Law University, Delhi.

The CJI said Prof. Singh had played a foundational role in establishing the two institutions, which had contributed significantly to legal scholarship, professional training and the development of generations of young lawyers.

He noted that institution-building required more than merely fulfilling the formal responsibilities of an academic office and involved creating an environment where scholarship could flourish and young minds could develop with confidence and independence.

Recalling his own association with Prof. Singh's work, CJI Surya Kant said he had first encountered his name as a young law student at Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, where Prof. Singh's reputation as a teacher and academic was already well established.

“It is therefore particularly meaningful for me to welcome him today, many years later, to the Supreme Court of India and to acknowledge the influence he has had on the field of legal education,” he said.

Prof. Singh delivers inaugural lecture on Constitution

Prof. Ranbir Singh, the inaugural recipient of the Nyaya Shiksha Samman, also delivered the opening lecture of the monthly series. The subject of his lecture was “The Constitution as a Charter of Opportunity”.

CJI Surya Kant said the theme provided an appropriate beginning to the initiative, noting that the Constitution was often approached through the language of rights, limitations on power and structures of governance.

At the same time, he said, the Constitution embodied a broader commitment to creating conditions in which individuals could participate meaningfully in society and pursue opportunities with dignity and equality. The CJI expressed hope that Prof. Singh's scholarship and experience would contribute to examining how the constitutional promise of equality and opportunity could respond to the aspirations of a changing India.

Concluding his address, CJI Surya Kant congratulated Prof. Singh on becoming the inaugural recipient of the Supreme Court Nyaya Shiksha Samman and thanked him for delivering the first lecture of the programme. He said the two initiatives were intended to encourage continuing engagement with ideas, scholarship and the questions shaping the development of law and the legal profession.