Cuttack, July 29 : Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Sunday advised the law students not to be guided by the majoritarian views and remain true to their conviction.

"You should never be guided by the majoritarian views. Be true to your own conviction and conscience and always endeavour to be responsibly true to factual aspects by piercing the veil of perceptions being floated around you," he said, as he delivered the presidential address at the fifth annual convocation of National Law University (NLU), Odisha.

He suggested them to always be lucid, articulate and concrete in their line of reasoning and arguments, penetrating and striking at the focal point of discourse or dispute just like the bull's eye of the dartboard.

"You will become the connecting force between the justice delivery mechanism and the people at large. So, in a way, you are actually going to the amessengers of justice' and atorch bearers' of the legal world," said the CJI.

Michael Kirby, a former judge on the High Court of Australia, said: "Indeed, it is central to our lives as lawyers - and especially if we become judges - to be honest, candid and respectful of human rights for all, including for our own humanity. Integrity lies at the very heart of lawyers life. Honesty, respect, kindness to one another, are vital accompaniments on our life-long journeys as lawyers."

Justice Kirby was also conferred with the Degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) (Honoris Causa) by the university.

Vineet Saran, Chief Justice of Orissa High Court and Chancellor of the university, sitting judges of High Court, senior advocates, judicial officers were among the other dignitaries present.

A total of 167 graduates were awarded degrees, including 49 LLM candidates, and 118 from undergraduate courses - 57 and 59 candidates respectively from the BA LLB and BBA LLB streams.



Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.

All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.

The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.

Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.

As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.

It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.

"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.

Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.

Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.

"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.

The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.

A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.

"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.

"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.

"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.

"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.