Chief Justice of India( CJI) BR Gavai on August 23 said that the stipend paid to many young lawyers by seniors is “pathetic” and makes it difficult for them to survive in the profession.

Speaking at the valedictory function of the golden jubilee celebration of VM Salgaonkar College of Law in Goa, the CJI stressed that the welfare of juniors should be a priority for the Bar.

“Problems of young lawyers have always been close to my heart. Senior lawyers should generously contribute to the welfare of junior lawyers. Stipend paid to some of the young lawyers by some of the seniors is really pathetic it is difficult for them to survive,” CJI Gavai said.

He also highlighted that formal academic performance is not a guarantee of future success.

He recounted his own experiences as a student of Government Law College in Mumbai and later Amravati when he did not attend classes but secured third rank despite that.

“When I was in Government Law College, Mumbai, we would sit on the compound wall and depend on our friends who would mark our presence. Then in the last year we shifted to Amravati and there I went to college may be half a dozen times. My friend who later on became a judge of the High Court used to mark my presence. In the results that were declared, I was third in the merit list without going to college, reading five year solved papers,” he recalled.

The CJI added that exam results should not be given undue importance in measuring potential, noting that his own contemporaries followed very different paths despite their rankings.

“So the student who was no. 1 turned out to be a criminal lawyer specialising only in bail. Then no. 2 Justice VL Achliya he became a District Judge then High Court judge and I was at 3 who was a lawyer and then became CJI. Don’t care about what your ranks are in the exam. Exam results don’t determine what level of success you will lead to. It is your determination, dedication, hard work, commitment to the profession that matters,” he said.

CJI Gavai also spoke about the structural transformation in legal education in India, noting the importance of the integrated five-year law course.

“Now with the advent of the five years course the legal education system has taken a paradigm shift. This shift has enabled lawyers to become complete lawyers before they pass final year,” he observed.

While acknowledging the role of National Law Universities, the Chief Justice underlined that they form only a small segment of legal education in the country.

“Though NLUs are important they represent a small faction of legal education in India. Students from taluka level colleges have also reached the higher echelons,” he said.