# CJI says judiciary will protect students’ right to protest 2026-09-26T21:46:21+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has said the judiciary is committed to protecting students' fundamental right to peaceful protest, and courts will not ignore police repression. He made the statement during an interaction at Chanakya National Law University in Patna on Saturday. The CJI said courts will intervene when there is an infringement of the right to protest, rediff.com reports. On collegium transparency, the CJI said dissenting opinions are recorded but not made public because full disclosure could compromise the dignity of judges under consideration. He also praised a proposal by CNLU Vice Chancellor Faizan Mustafa to compress the five-year law degree into four years with a mandatory court apprenticeship. The visit was significant given recent opposition to the CJI at other law universities, according to the CNLU statement quoted by rediff.com. NDTV.com carried a brief version of the CJI's statement on protecting the right to protest, without additional details on collegium transparency or legal education reform. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Rediff.com carried the full event report, including the CJI's comments on collegium transparency and legal education reform, and noted the significance of the visit after recent opposition at other universities. NDTV.com's brief report focused only on the protest rights statement. Neither outlet questioned the CJI's framing. The absence of student voices or opposition accounts leaves the claims about police repression and collegium confidentiality untested. The CNLU statement is the sole source for the CJI's remarks on both protests and transparency. ## Coverage - rediff.com (neutral report) Straight event report from CNLU statement, no editorial slant - ndtv.com (neutral report) Brief factual report, no additional framing or analysis Tags: Chanakya National Law University, Collegium, Patna, Supreme Court, Surya Kant Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/cji-says-judiciary-will-protect-students-right-to-protest/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/cji-says-judiciary-will-protect-students-right-to-protest/#story-in-brief