We are in a country where we do not allow the provisions of the Constitution to influence our personal behaviour, S. Muralidhar, former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court and now a senior advocate of the Supreme Court, said at The Hindu Justice Unplugged on Saturday (February 28, 2026). In a conversation with Krishnadas Rajagopal, Legal Correspondent at The Hindu, the eminent jurist and author said change comes from the social milieu where you grow up in your houses, in your homes and talks of how constitutional thinking has to start from home. He said it was up to each young lawyer to make the best of the initial years of struggle. Edited excerpts:
KDR: Your remarks on the topic of the conversation - ‘The art of Constitutional Thinking: How great lawyers are made’
SM: Law is very much in everyone’s mind, imagination. The amount of coverage of courts and lawyers in the last two decades has been phenomenal. After the advent of social media, everyone gets to see some video clip of some lawyer in action or judge in action. I think there is a greater realisation that courts are playing, whether we want it or not, a very active role in people’s life. Almost every aspect of life in India is governed by some court order or some statute or some legal policy. So everybody is interested in knowing what’s happening in the courts and with lawyers.
