Reflections on the Chief Justice of India’s visit: A PhD perspective on constitutionalism and rights

by Bhavinee Singh, PhD Candidate

As a PhD candidate from India pursuing my research at Edinburgh Law School, I had the privilege of attending a rare and intellectually invigorating event featuring Hon’ble Mr. Justice B.R. Gavai, Chief Justice of India, and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Vikram Nath, Judge of the Supreme Court of India. It was a moment of deep intellectual and personal significance for me. The event was structured around two keynote addresses, Justice Gavai’s “The Constitution as an Evolving Document” and Justice Nath’s “The Role of the Constitution in Protecting Individual Rights”, followed by a conversation moderated by Dr. Deval Desai, Reader in International Economic Law. 

Justice B.R. Gavai opened the session with his address on “The Constitution as an Evolving Document.” He traced the journey of the Indian Constitution through seminal cases like Shankari Prasad, Golak Nath, and Kesavananda Bharati, and grounded his analysis in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s vision of the Constitution as a living document. Justice Gavai highlighted how legislative amendments from the First Amendment to the One Hundred and Sixth Amendment have responded to India’s evolving socio-political needs, enabling affirmative action, decentralisation, and the recognition of education as a fundamental right. His address was as much a tribute to constitutional inventiveness as it was a call to sustain the Indian Constitution’s transformative spirit.

Justice Vikram Nath’s address, “The Role of the Constitution in Protecting Individual Rights,” provided a rights oriented perspective on how the Constitution has been interpreted and applied. Drawing parallels between the Indian Constitution and the UK’s unwritten constitutional tradition, he emphasised on their shared dynamism and commitment to individual liberty. He touched upon the golden triangle of Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Indian Constitution, calling them the holy trinity of individual rights and liberty. Justice Nath’s emphasis on judicial creativity was illustrated through references to cases like Maneka Gandhi, NALSA, and Sheela Barse which reaffirmed the judiciary’s role in pushing constitutional boundaries that extended the scope of rights to better reflect individual dignity, equality, and freedom.

Dr. Deval Desai then moderated a discussion which deepened the exchange by prompting reflections on legal education, technology, gender representation, and the judges’ own journeys. Justice Gavai shared how his own journey shaped his adjudicative philosophies that now intersect with the larger story of constitutional justice. Justice Nath reflected on how digital innovation has increased access. They both agreed that technology if deployed with care, can serve as an equaliser in the society. Concluding remarks were provided by Ms. Tanvi Dubey, Advocate on Record, Supreme Court of India, which bridged judicial insight with the lived realities of legal practice.

What stood out most was the tone of constitutional optimism, that despite all its challenges, the Constitution remains an unfinished but a very determined project. As a researcher of Indian Constitutional Law at a Scottish law school, this was more than an academic event for me. It was a moment of affirmation that even across continents, the debates around rights, representation, and constitutional evolution remain profoundly interconnected.