A law degree is only as valuable as the justice it delivers to the most vulnerable — that was the central message Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu sent to graduating students of the National Law University on Sunday, October 11, 2026, as he addressed a convocation ceremony and called on new lawyers to measure their success by their service to society.

Congratulations to graduates — and a challenge, not just a celebration

Sukhu opened with warm congratulations to all students receiving their degrees and to their families, acknowledging the shared effort behind every graduation moment. But he quickly pivoted from celebration to accountability: 'आज से आपके प्रोफेशनल जीवन की शुरुआत होने जा रही है' ('From today, your professional life is about to begin'), he noted, adding that challenges and failures would follow — and that learning from them was the only real path to success.

The Chief Minister spoke from personal experience, reminding the gathering that he himself entered public life through politics after a legal and administrative background. He told graduates that their cohort would scatter across the legal ecosystem — some becoming the country's finest advocates, others upholding the dignity of justice from the bench, and still others serving in administrative roles or, like him, entering political life.

The benchmark Sukhu set: justice for the weakest citizen

The sharpest line of the address was a direct definition of what law must mean in practice. Sukhu argued that the law finds its true purpose only when three conditions are met: the most vulnerable person receives justice, the voice of the needy is heard, and every citizen carries the confidence that their rights are protected. Without those three, a law degree is an ornament — not a tool.

It is a framing that cuts through the ceremony. Addressing students at what is one of India's elite legal-education institutions, he placed the measure of professional success not in courtroom victories or prestigious postings, but in the lived experience of the citizen standing at the bottom of the social ladder. The real value of your success, he said plainly, will be decided by your contribution to society.

Why the message carries weight beyond the convocation hall

National Law Universities in India produce a significant share of the country's top litigators, civil servants, and judicial officers. A Chief Minister invoking access to justice — rather than career achievement — as the primary yardstick at such a platform is a deliberate signal about what the political class expects from elite legal education. Sukhu's own political journey, from a working-class background in Himachal Pradesh to the Chief Minister's chair, lends the message an autobiographical credibility that a purely ceremonial address would lack.

For the graduating class of 2026, the charge is clear: carry the law to those who need it most, not just to those who can afford it best.