NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant has said he never accepted an invitation to be the chief guest at the convocation of the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (Nalsar) University of Law, amid a controversy over his proposed presence at the event.
The controversy began after a section of Nalsar students opposed his invitation and intensified when the Bar Council of India (BCI) intervened, ordering the blacklisting of the protesting graduates before later retracting the decision and expressing regret.
Hours after addressing vice-chancellors of national law universities in Jodhpur, CJI Kant told TOI that he “never consented to Nalsar’s invitation” to be the chief guest at the convocation.
“The question of me attending the convocation does not arise,” the CJI said.
Four days earlier, Nalsar had confirmed that, in keeping with tradition, it had invited CJI Kant to be the chief guest at the ceremony, which is likely to be held at the end of August or in September.
More than 400 of Nalsar’s around 1,400 students had opposed Kant’s proposed presence, citing remarks he made during a hearing on petitions concerning students’ march to Parliament on July 20 and alleged police excesses.
The CJI-led bench is hearing a number of petitions seeking an independent inquiry into allegations of police excesses against students, including the alleged use of pellet guns and facial recognition technology to profile protesters in violation of their right to privacy.
The bench has also entertained a petition filed by relatives of injured police personnel seeking strict action against “criminal elements” who allegedly infiltrated the students’ agitation and were responsible for violence and damage to public property, while also abusing the Prime Minister and other constitutional functionaries.
The students appeared to have objected to the CJI-led bench’s initial refusal to take suo motu cognisance of alleged police excesses against protesters. On July 22, an advocate, without filing a formal petition, had asked the court to take cognisance of the alleged excesses, claiming to possess video footage.
CJI Kant asked the advocate to file a proper petition setting out his allegations. When the advocate persisted, without producing any documents, and urged the bench to watch the videos, the CJI, citing the heavy workload before the court, asked him not to waste judicial time and advised him to file a proper petition.
Similar petitions were subsequently filed and entertained by the CJI-led bench. The court directed police not to take coercive action against students and ordered the preservation of video and CCTV footage related to the incident.
The bench has also sought suggestions on an independent inquiry and considered the establishment of a commission to formulate pan-India guidelines for graded police action when protests turn violent.
