A graduating class of lawyers at India's most prestigious law school received their degrees on Saturday, 17 October 2026 — and left with something extra: a government-backed promise to reshape the legal ecosystem they are about to enter. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar attended the 34th Convocation of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru, presenting degree certificates alongside the country's highest judicial officer and announcing two concrete institutional pledges for Karnataka's legal future.

What Shivakumar told the graduating class

Addressing the students, the Chief Minister called upholding constitutional values and strengthening democracy a collective responsibility — not just of the state, but of every legal professional. He urged the graduates to 'uphold integrity, question injustice and place people at the heart of the legal system,' adding that 'the true measure of progress lies not only in economic growth but also in equality, dignity and justice.'

The message was pointed: legal training at a national law university carries a public obligation. Affordability and timeliness of justice, he argued, are as much a governance metric as economic indicators.

The Startup Law Clinic and the new judicial prep institute

Beyond the convocation address, Shivakumar made two specific announcements. First, the Government of Karnataka will support a Startup Law Clinic at NLSIU to provide pro bono legal advice to young entrepreneurs — a direct bridge between the university's academic capacity and the state's fast-growing startup economy, centred on Bengaluru's tech corridor.

Second, a dedicated institute will be established to prepare law graduates for judicial service examinations and to provide continuing legal education for young advocates already practising. The move addresses a well-documented gap: India's lower judiciary faces persistent vacancies, and structured preparation pathways at the institutional level remain scarce.

Who shared the stage — and why it matters

The convocation drew a rare convergence of judicial and executive authority. Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant, who also serves as NLSIU's Chancellor, presided. Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Sudhir Krishnaswamy were also present. A sitting Chief Minister announcing institutional commitments in the presence of the CJI gives the pledges a weight that routine policy statements rarely carry — both symbolically and in terms of political accountability.

Karnataka has long positioned NLSIU, founded in 1987 as India's first national law school, as the anchor of its legal education architecture. The new announcements extend that relationship into access-to-justice and startup support territory, signalling a deliberate effort to make the university's outputs serve the state's broader development agenda.

The budget lines and timelines for both initiatives are yet to be formally notified — the next test of whether these pledges travel from the convocation stage to the state gazette.