Emphasising that examination results are not the sole determinants of success, Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Saturday said that he was an “out-standing” student – a play on words to imply he would often be found outside class – who in his final year of law went to the college only “maybe half a dozen times” and stood third in the merit list.
Speaking at the event to commemorate the Golden Jubilee celebration of VM Salgaocar College of Law in Miramar, Goa, CJI Gavai told law students, “Justice Mahesh Sonak, who is like a younger brother to me, has shared that… since Miramar beach is nearby, he was an ‘out-standing’ student. I must share that I was also an ‘out-standing’ student.”
CJI Gavai said that when he was studying at the government law college during the first two years, he would “sit on a compound wall” and rely on friends to “mark our presence (attendance).”
“Then in the last year, I had to shift to Amravati… In Amravati, I think I might have gone to the college maybe half a dozen times. One of my friends, who later became a judge of the High Court, he used to mark my presence,” he said.
“I will just give an example. When the results were declared, there was one topper… I don’t want to name him. Then, my friend… was second. I was third in the merit list, without going to college. Reading Jhabvala (books) and five-year solved papers. So, the student who was number one; he turned out to be a criminal lawyer, specialising only in bail. The second (on the list)…he became a direct district judge and rose to become a High Court judge. I was at number three… who was a lawyer, and today I am the Chief Justice of India. So, don’t go by what your ranks are in the examination. The examination results do not determine what success you will achieve. It is your determination, hard work, dedication and commitment to the profession which matters,” CJI Gavai said.
Earlier, Justice Mahesh S Sonak of the Bombay High Court had referred to himself as an “out-standing” student of the college, confessing that while studying law, they would spend more time on the beach than in the classes.
“On a personal note, I have so many wonderful memories of this place. This place is hardly 200 metres away from Panaji’s famed Miramar beach. The attractions at the beach were, at that time, far more magnetic than the law classes or the magnificent law library that this college has provided. So, I must confess that we were more on the beach and out of the classes or the library. And in that sense and perhaps in that sense only, I could claim to be one of the several ‘out-standing’ students of this college,” Justice Sonak said.
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In his speech, CJI Gavai said the stakeholders should not only focus on the National Law Universities (NLU), but also on strengthening legal education across the country. “Nowadays, the focus is more on NLUs and CLAT examination. But I am sure that apart from NLUs, other colleges also produce good students. We have seen students coming from taluka-level colleges, who have reached higher echelons. Though NLUs are certainly important, they represent only a small fraction of the legal education ecosystem in India. The vast majority are enrolled in regular colleges and universities, many of which face challenges in infrastructure, faculty… and curriculum design,” the CJI added.
