Country shall thrive only when citizens are aware of Constitution: CJI Ramana

Chief Justice of India CJI N V Ramana on Sunday said a constitutional republic shall thrive only when its citizens are aware of what their Constitution envisagesHe emphasized that every individual must be made aware of their rights and duties and that it should be the endeavour of the law graduates to explain to the people the constitutional provisions in simpler termsAddressing the fifth convocation of Hidayatullah National Law University HNLU Raipur at a hotel he also termed law as an instrument of social change and said law school education must turn graduates into social engineersThis generation of youngsters is taking the world by revolution Be it the climate crisis or violation of human rights they are a united force across the world Truly the technological revolution has made each one of us global citizens the CJI said adding that it was time for all of them to join the revolutionUnderlining the role of youth in achieving social transformation through the rule of law and the Constitution he said The sad reality is that the supreme document which defines the aspirations of modern independent India is confined to the knowledge of law students legal practitioners and a very small segment of the Indian populationThe Constitution is meant for every citizen Every individual must be made aware of their rights and duties We have a collective duty to promote constitutional culture and raise awareness It should be your endeavour to explain the constitutional provisions in simpler terms and assimilate its ethos into the minds of the people he saidA constitutional republic shall only thrive when its citizens are aware of what their Constitution envisages he addedDescribing the law profession as immensely challenging intellectually stimulating and incredibly satisfying the CJI said The legal profession has not completely emerged out of old days but the importance of pedigree family history and hereditary legal practice is slowly fading outYoungsters who are first generation lawyers are shining and are reaching greater heights in the profession through their sheer hard work and commitment he addedA lawyer is not a mere representative before the court Simply knowing a statute will not help you in the long run Your clients may expect you to be aware about different facets of business society or even sports A lawyer needs to be an all rounder a leader and a changemaker Remember that new ways of thinking may invite criticism But do not allow such criticism to bother you CJI Ramana addedLaw school education must turn graduates into social engineers because the law is an instrument of social change he saidThe most vulnerable are often the victims of human rights violations either by the State or by antisocial elements As young advocates you are best placed to strongly oppose the same through legal action Society needs your able assistance in the dispensation of inexpensive justice to the needy he saidCiting that legal aid services in India are the largest in the world the CJI said We need young talented minds to steer the movement in the right directionI urge you all to take up as many probono cases as possible In your chase for material wealth do not forget the power of change that lies within you You must have a vision of the world you want to live in But a vision is not enough You must create it by standing up and fighting for it he addedMeanwhile the CJI also congratulated Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel saying that he has heard that the Chhattisgarh government was taking ample care of the infrastructural and budgetary needs of the judicial community in the stateHe hoped that this trend continues and Chhattisgarh emerges as one of the role models in providing best infrastructure to the judiciaryCM Baghel was the guest of honour while Supreme Court judge Justice S Abdul Nazeer presided over the programme Chhattisgarh High Court Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami was also presentAn HNLU public relations officer said 60 students from the BA LLB Hons batch of 20152020 147 from the BA LLB Hons 20162021 49 from the LLM 2019iquest2020 and 61 students from the LLM 20202021 were awarded degrees while four students were conferred PhDThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever