The National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam (NLUJA, Assam) held its 4th Convocation in Guwahati on Saturday, conferring 107 degrees.
Of these, 81 graduates received them in person and 26 in absentia. Supreme Court Justices Vikram Nath and Ujjal Bhuyan attended as Chief Guest and Guest of Honour, respectively. Justice Nath, who is set to become Chief Justice of India (CJI) in February 2027, delivered the convocation address. Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar, the university's Chancellor, declared the convocation open. Prof (Dr) KVS. Sarma, Vice-Chancellor, then delivered the Welcome Address and presented the University Report.
The ceremony was held at the Sri Sri Damodaradeva International Auditorium in Panjabari. Degrees were conferred on 6 Ph.D. scholars, 48 graduates of the one-year LL.M. programme and 53 of the five-year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) course.
Shivam Gupta won the gold medal as LL.M. topper (CGPA 9.50). Shambhavi won the University Gold Medal as B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) topper (CGPA 9.78).
The Ph.D. degrees went to Bipasha Saikia, Sajidur Rahman, Nihal Chhetri, Jay Jaiswal, Jayashri Rajbangshi and Jafreen Haque. Their theses cover geographical indications, misleading advertisements, transgender persons' right to health, urban groundwater depletion, undertrial prisoners in Assam and juvenile justice in Assam.
The gathering also witnessed the book launch of the Second Volume of Intellectual Property Laws: Education for All by the dignitaries on the dais. The book has been edited by Prof (Dr) Debasis Poddar, Professor of Law, NLUJA, Assam; Dr Sharmistha Baruah, Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Cotton University; and Dr Sabina Yasmin Saharia, Research Officer, DPIIT-IPR Chair, NLUJA, Assam.
Presenting the University Report for the period October 11, 2025 to September 20, 2026, Prof. Sarma outlined the expansion of the B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) and LL.M. programmes to two sections of 70 students each and the admission of 12 scholars to the Ph.D. programme. He highlighted the inauguration of the 300-bedded student hostel on March 15, 2026, built with the financial assistance of the Government of Assam, the work of the University’s research centres and externally supported projects, and its publications.
He also noted students’ achievements in mooting, client counselling and sports, the University’s legal-aid and outreach activities, and institutional scholarships of ₹16.50 lakh extended to 55 students, reaffirming the University’s commitment to the legal and institutional needs of the North-Eastern Region.
The Chancellor, Justice Ashutosh Kumar, opened his address by welcoming Justice Bhuyan as a “son of the soil”. He then congratulated the graduates and acknowledged the backstage contribution of the teachers and parents. Invoking Justice VR Krishna Iyer’s observation, “law without lawyers loses its locomotion; lawyer without law misses his function”, he said a robust commitment to law is essential to a healthily functioning society, and that NLUJA, Assam occupies an important place in the legal landscape of the region.
He urged the graduates to remain humane within the contradictions of law, with the Constitution as their compass and constitutional morality, a concept Dr. BR Ambedkar drew from George Grote, as their guiding principle. Referring to the Kaushal Kishor case on the intersection of competing rights, he asked them to remember the communities of the North-East in developing a regional and national outlook towards jurisprudence, and to deal cautiously with new technologies.
He urged them to retain humour, humility and humanity and to break self-imposed barriers with courage of conviction, recalling Roger Bannister’s sub-four-minute mile. Recalling a letter written to Justice Krishna Iyer by a former Chief Justice of India, he concluded, "integrity should be your greatest asset.”
Describing the Convocation as the beginning of a new phase, Justice Bhuyan recalled Aristotle’s words, "education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity” and Albert Einstein’s view that education is more than the learning of facts. No convocation, he said, is complete without acknowledging teachers, recalling Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s tribute to Sir CV Raman and Raman’s exchange of views with Dr. S Radhakrishnan, and observing that teaching is not merely an occupation, it is a way of life.
Welcoming Justice Nath to Assam, he recalled that Justice Nath introduced the live-streaming of court proceedings as Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, and referred to the Swapnil Tripathi judgment, which treated live-streaming as part of the right to receive information under Article 19 (1) (a), carrying justice beyond the four walls of the courtroom. Marking the University’s 15th Foundation Day, he said, “Much has been achieved but much more remains to come.”
He stressed that the legal profession rests on ethics and integrity and that we need a strong academia. He urged graduates to respect the other view and be prepared to unlearn. He also quoted Prof. Upendra Baxi, who observed that “constitutional values are tested not on the lives of the privileged but on the experiences of the marginalised.”
Reminding the graduates that success in the early years may not come easily as Rome was not built in a day, he commended the University’s National Moot Court Competition, called the University a "vibrant centre for learning law”, and told the graduates: “Those who cross the bridges you built will thank you.”
Justice Bhuyan laid emphasis on the necessity of law as an instrument to uphold human dignity and human rights in the era of rapid technological quantum leaps.
A message from the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was read out by Dr. Nandarani Choudhury, Assistant Registrar (Academic), NLUJA, Assam. Observing that everyone deserves to be heard, the Chief Minister said that the ideas of Dharma and Nyaya have long played a significant role in preserving the social fabric of the nation, and that a law degree carries a responsibility to serve the public, protect individual rights and uphold justice.
Referring to the Kesavananda Bharati and SR Bommai cases and invoking Dr BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi, he underscored the protection of democratic institutions and individual rights, and noted the prominent role of the Sixth Schedule in the region’s constitutional framework.
He said the Government of Assam has been supporting judicial infrastructure, especially in the new districts of the State, since well-planned infrastructure helps judges, and assured that it would continue to support NLUJA, Assam, both institutionally and in terms of infrastructure.
Delivering the Convocation Address, Justice Vikram Nath urged the graduates to build their careers on humility, honesty and fairness. Recalling that he had once planned only to practise in the district courts where his father practised, he told them that the choices they make today need not define them forever.
“Your life does not become final when you graduate,” he said, adding that a path one never planned can turn out to be the one that suits one best. Law school, he observed, should shape one’s personality, teaching students how to think, how to disagree, how to persuade, how to listen. The profession can confer considerable power, he cautioned, and said that power must come with humility, fairness and honesty.
Following the Convocation, the University hosted an Alumni Dinner on its premises on the evening of 10 October 2026, bringing together the Vice-Chancellor, the Registrar, faculty members, alumni and students. A highlight of the evening was the felicitation of six alumni who cleared the Assam Judicial Service Examination, 2026:
1. Anurag Bhuyan – B.A., LL.B. (2019–2024)
2. Bansuri Poddar – B.A., LL.B. (2018–2023)
3. Medha Basumatary – B.A., LL.B. (2014–2019)
4. Minhaz Hussain – B.A., LL.B. (2018–2023)
5. Subham Das – B.A., LL.B. (2017–2022); LL.M. (2022–2023)
6. Tarali Neog – LL.M. (2022–2023)
Prof. (Dr.) KVS Sarma, VC , congratulated the new judicial officers, including those unable to attend because of official duties. Advocate Debayan Banerjee, Vice-President of the NLUJA, Assam Alumni Association and Advocate at the Gauhati High Court, reflected on the University’s journey since its first batch graduated and described its contribution to its alumni through three pillars: research, opportunities and courage.
He urged the new officers to remain courageous, pass meaningful orders and exercise the discretion vested in them by law with confidence. The evening concluded with the distribution of trophies for the 15th Foundation Day Sports Events, an interactive session, a group photograph and dinner.
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