CJI Surya Kant Highlights Lawyers' Role In Freedom Struggle, Says Legal Fraternity Must Keep Constitutional Promise Alive

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, addressing the Supreme Court Bar Association's Independence Day function on August 15, 2026, underlined the larger constitutional and social role of the legal profession, drawing a direct connection between the Bar's present responsibilities and the role lawyers played in India's freedom struggle.

In his address, CJI Surya Kant observed that India's freedom movement had a “deep and enduring connection with the law”. He pointed out that some of the country's foremost leaders and architects of modern India, including Mahatma Gandhi and Dr B.R. Ambedkar,were lawyers. The legal profession, he stressed, was therefore not a mere bystander to the freedom struggle but an “integral part of it”.

He recalled a long list of lawyers who contributed to the national movement and the making of independent India, including Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Motilal Nehru, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari, Chittaranjan Das, Bhulabhai Desai, M.G. Ranade and Durgabai Deshmukh. According to the CJI, members of the legal fraternity helped build a constitutional order in which both citizens and organs of the State would remain subject to law, while rights and freedoms would be protected by the Constitution.

The CJI explained how the legal profession happened to be in the forefront of the freedom movement. The Indian Independence movement was a sustained challenge to the legitimacy of colonial rule through political movements, petitions, public debates, and, most importantly, through the language of law.

"This is where the legal profession found its natural place in the freedom movement. Lawyers were trained to look beyond the mere existence of a rule and ask whether the exercise of power was consistent with the principles that were supposed to justify it."

Chief Justice Kant continued that post-independence, the responsibility of the legal profession didn't end; it simply changed its form. The responsibility, shaped in the form of a constitutional promise, on the members of the Bar and lawyers is to keep ensuring that grievances are brought to the Courts. 

"That is why the responsibility of the legal profession did not end with the attainment of Freedom — it simply changed its form. Today, that responsibility is to keep this constitutional promise alive, especially for those who may not otherwise have the means, or the voice, to claim it."

 He stated that, however, the challenge before the legal fraternity post-independence was no longer about resisting colonial power but about giving life to the constitutional vision of a free India.

CJI Kant gave examples of how Courts have interpreted Article 21 in the expanded sense to accommodate a broad set of rights, including dignity, a clean environment, a humane environment and also free legal aid. He said that all these Constitutional developments happened because of the contributions made by lawyers.

The CJI concluded by turning his attention to young lawyers. Acknowledging the pressures of a competitive profession and the difficulties of building a practice, he nevertheless expressed confidence in the resilience, intellect and commitment to justice of the younger generation.

"To our young law graduates and young lawyers, I want to say this: the responsibility that this Bar has carried since the days of the freedom struggle will, before long, rest on your shoulders. The institutions of justice that generations before you have built and strengthened are now yours to protect and to carry forward. Please know that the Bar and the Bench remain committed to your growth: by extending mentorship, by creating meaningful opportunity, and by placing our confidence in you. The miles that remain are yours to walk, and we walk with you."