A group of outgoing students from the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) University, Hyderabad, has opposed the invitation extended to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to preside over the university’s 2026 convocation ceremony.
Students belonging to the Batch of 2026 have written to the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, faculty members, and other university officials, urging them to reconsider the decision to invite the CJI as the chief guest, India Today reported.
In their letter to the authorities, the students expressed concerns about recent judicial developments. These included remarks attributed to the Chief Justice on the Jantar Mantar protest and his alleged comparison of Indian youth to cockroaches.
“We, the undersigned students of [redacted] (2025-2026), share the concerns of the graduating batch regarding inviting the Hon’ble CJI, Justice Surya Kant, as our convocation’s Chief Guest,” the letter read.
“From referring to the youth as ‘cockroaches’ to making insensitive statements about not having time to watch videos of police brutality, the CJI has shown apathy towards students like us. Inviting him to our college to hand us degrees that hold so much academic and emotional importance does not sit right with us,” it further added.
The students have reportedly contended that inviting the Chief Justice under the present circumstances would conflict with the principles of constitutional accountability and academic freedom. They have therefore urged the university authorities to reconsider their decision.
“We request the University Administration to reconsider its proposal to extend the invitation to the Hon’ble CJI, and hope that the University treat this as a shared concern across the graduating cohorts rather than one raised by a single batch,” the letter concluded.
