Hyderabad: In the face of growing opposition to the presence of Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant’s presence at public functions, a large section of students of NALSAR (National Academy of Legal Studies and Research) University of Law at Hyderabad have joined in. They have urged the university not to invite him as the chief guest at the convocation for the graduating batch of 2026 this month.The controversy over Chief Justice Surya Kant possibly going for the convocation at NALSAR and the opposition to it from students is the fourth in a series of such reported cancellations, after nationwide outrage over his remarks referring to certain individuals as “parasites” and “cockroaches”. His remarks led to the birth of the Cockroach Janata Party and the nationwide movement against paper leaks. His more recent courtroom observations, asking a lawyer “not to waste court time” on videos showing police brutality against protesters on July 20, have also been brought up by those voicing dissent against the invitation.The CJI was reportedly invited as the chief guest but did not participate at O.P. Jindal Global University’s Jindal Global Law School convocation in Ahmedabad on July 26. His place was taken by senior lawyer and Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Singhvi Manu. Two days later, the Justice H.R. Khanna memorial lecture with the CJI as chief guest at India International Centre in New Delhi was postponed without any stated reasons. The poster said he would give a lecture titled ‘From Defections to Mergers: The Need to Repeal the Tenth Schedule’.Two days before that, the CJI was to attend the convocation at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai on August 2, the event was abruptly deferred. TISS attributed the decision to unforeseen circumstances amidst concerns over security arrangements and apprehensions of possible student protests.In the latest instance at NALSAR, about 70 students from the batch of 2026 wrote to the university’s vice-chancellor, registrar, professors and administration asking them to reconsider the CJI as the chief guest for their convocation, which traditionally takes place in August-September.The administration has neither communicated the date of the convocation to the graduated students nor announced the chief guest.A student who spoke to The Wire said, “We knew the CJI will be the chief guest for the event, as in the past. Though notice of the convocation was not sent out to the graduated students, in anticipation of the CJI’s participation we decided to write to the vice-chancellor and others. However, there has been no response from the administration till date.”The representation of students reportedly had the support of faculty members at NALSAR. A faculty member was quoted as telling PTI that it was known for some time that CJI Surya Kant was going to be the chief guest at the event, adding that the controversy around him was also well known to everyone.The students of NALSAR have expressed solidarity with protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against the NEET-UG paper leaks and, on July 17, the university’s Student Bar Council (SBC) issued a formal statement supporting educationist and activist Sonam Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike. The SBC also called for the resignation of then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.Coinciding with the brutal police action on protesters during the ‘Chalo Sansad march’ by the Cockroach Janta Party at Jantar Mantar on July 20, several NALSAR students boycotted lunch in the campus mess. On July 24, a demonstration was held outside the university’s main gate demanding Pradhan’s resignation. A day earlier, the students and the SBC shot off the letter to the administration against extending an invitation to the CJI for the convocation.The letter also referred to a petition filed before the CJI seeking an inquiry into alleged police action against students. The students expressed anguish at the CJI’s remarks about not being interested in videos.The July 23 NALSAR students’ letter to the university administration reads, “As law students, our concern is specific to our graduating batch. A convocation should reflect the university’s commitment to constitutional rights, access to justice, and reasoned engagement with grievances. Receiving our degree from a dignitary whose recent public conduct, as reported, appears dismissive of serious allegations of police brutality against protesting citizens sits uneasily with the values we have been taught at NALSAR.”On July 25, classes of 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2031, comprising about 380 students, endorsed the representation of the batch of 2026.