Justice Unplugged 2026 LIVE: ‘We dont need new regulations to deal with obscenity’: Gopal Sankaranarayanan

Watch live: Justice Unplugged 2026

• February 28, 2026 15:02

  ‘We don’t need any new regulations to deal with obscenity’: Gopal Sankaranarayanan

  Gopal Sankaranarayanan, a senior advocate in the Supreme Court, said that obscene and abusive content has been a plague of civilisations.

  He also said that we spend too much time worrying about obscene or annoying content, which is the reason why the Supreme Court has to strike off a provision in the IT Act.

  He added that it is not the business of the Supreme Court to get into regulating society and we don’t need any new regulations to deal with obscenity, answering to the question of the Senior Sub Editor of The Hindu whether we need regulations of obscene content.

• February 28, 2026 14:52

  ‘Will AI make advocates lazy?’

  Before AI, people had to go through each and every file to get the details of the case, Neha Rathi said.

  The advocate should have the knowledge to access the files without AI, in order to process the results given by AI, she said by answering the question of whether AI will make advocates lazy.

• February 28, 2026 14:33

  Use of AI in law studies and practice

  VIT already introduced AI and law syllabus three semesters ago, said Jishnu J.R.

  One won’t get technically advanced with the syllabus, Mr. Jishnu, answering Associate Editor of The Hindu, Sandeep Phukan’s question about whether AI should be added to the syllabus of law studies.

  He added that the course should also incorporate industrial experts to bridge the gap.

  Vishnu Sinha said that if one uses AI for summarising documents, it is a very helpful use of that, giving an example of piled-up documents of decades-old cases.

• February 28, 2026 14:19

  ‘AI is already acting as a great tool for practitioners of law’

  Neha Rathi, Advocate on Record in the Supreme Court of India, said that AI is already acting as a great tool for practitioners of law.

  She said there is a possibility of a wrong judgment, adding that we cannot close our eyes and go before the court, relying on AI.

  Vishal Sinha, an advocate in the Supreme Court of India, said that the arrival of AI is like the arrival of the internet years ago.

  He said that AI has made things easier, especially when one needs to do some research at the eleventh hour.

  Jishnu J.R., head of the department of Law in VIT, said that AI makes the process of research easier for us. He adds that AI is intelligent in terms of quantity, but not quality.

• February 28, 2026 13:08

  Reputation travels faster than a resume, says G.V. Selvan

  Reputation travels faster than a resume, said G.V. Selvan to the students of law.

  He said that honesty and hard work are keys to a good career.

  He advises the students of law to read, work and write regularly to excel in their profession. “They should think clearly, write regularly, and speak integrally,” Mr. Selvan adds.

• February 28, 2026 13:01

  AI should not be a co-pilot, not an autopilot, says G.V. Selvam

  AI is not a threat, but a tool; the results depend upon the person who uses it, G.V. Selvam, Vice President of VIT, said in the session ‘Legal Education in India’, in conversation with the CEO of The Hindu group, L.V. Navaneeth.

  Mr. Selvam added that “AI should not be a co-pilot, not an autopilot.”

• February 28, 2026 12:36

  Class 8 NCERT chapter about ‘corruption in Judiciary’ is incomplete, not accurate and possibly targeting the judiciary: Abhishek Sanghvi

  Responding to a question from the audience about the recent Supreme Court direction expressing concerns over Class 8 NCERT chapter concerning “corruption in Judiciary”, Mr. Singhvi said the chapter is “incomplete, not accurate and possibly targeting the judiciary.”

  “There were two issues, and I want to focus on the matter that is the selectivity of this two-page chapter.” 

  “Suddenly, out of the blue, there were two pages on judicial matters. It doesn’t seem to be institutionally about corruption, which is rampant in the bureaucratic political class and the political states.”

  And [it’s] plug-out-of-context, it could be an agenda of content to break the integrity and control, he said.

  “And definitely, the selectivity is in exclusion. And you could get class 8 students across the country; that is one sector of the table on the left side, which is for the corruption problems, the only people talking about it,” he said.

  “Ultimately, we all, which has defended liberty, private rights, [is] a bulwark against government excess. That’s not much. And that is not mentioned, or the institution is made a possible target,” he added. 

  Mr. Singhvi mentioned he is a counsel in the case.

  – Suruchi Kumari

• February 28, 2026 12:27

  AI is a remarkable tool, just like nuclear power: Abhishek Singhvi

  There is no if question in terms of AI as it has already come to play, Abhishek Singhvi said, replying to a question by a law student about the role of AI in law.

  He said that there are a lot more options in the menu card of the young lawyers.

  He added that AI is a remarkable tool, just like nuclear power, which has to be used constructively and positively.

  He added that “as long as AI is the slave and we are the master, AI is of great use.”

• February 28, 2026 12:19

  Abhishek Singhvi says law is ultimately about people

  Addressing the young lawyers, Abhishek Singhvi said law is ultimately about people. “Behind every constitutional principle and principle stands a human story: a prisoner seeking bail, a worker seeking wages, a woman seeking equality, a citizen seeking justice,” he said.

  “It’s not an ivory tower profession. When you argue a matter, you carry not just a legal proposition but live reality,” he added.

  – Suruchi Kumari

• February 28, 2026 12:18

  ‘In India, constitutional jurisprudence has repeatedly dealt with preventive detention’: Abhishek Singhvi

  Abhishek Singhvi said that when the government expands executive authority, often after moments of national trauma, the judiciary’s role becomes critical. 

  “When technological revolutions disrupt privacy, artificial intelligence challenges accountability, and environmental crises create regulatory frameworks, lawyers must combine constitutional memory with legal foresight,” he said.

  In India, constitutional jurisprudence has repeatedly dealt with preventive detention.

  These decisions, roles, and national security, he added, are not abstract concepts. “They shape the moral climate of a republic.”

  – Suruchi Kumari

• February 28, 2026 12:11

  ‘Law is the bloodstream of the markets’: Abhishek Singhvi

  Law is the bloodstream of the markets, said Abhishek Singhvi.

  He said that no discussion of nation building can be complete without economic nation building.

  “When India undertook economic reforms in 1991, it was not just an economic shift, but also a very important legal recalibration.”

  Economic justice and economic growth are both mediated through law, he added.

• February 28, 2026 12:00

  ‘Institutions including courts can falter, but the courage should outlive error’: Abhishek Singhvi

  The constitution does not defend itself; it relies on disciplined minds and courageous voices, said Abhishek Singhvi.

  “The institutions, including courts, can falter, but the courage should outlive error.”

• February 28, 2026 11:52

  ‘In India, public interest litigation expanded access to justice’

  “In India, public interest litigation expanded access to justice,” Abhishek Singhvi said. 

  It brought bonded labourers, undertrial prisoners, environmental degradation, gender discrimination, and so on, under judicial scrutiny.

  “That movement was not driven by corporate incentive; it was driven by moral imagination and reason,” he said.

  “The measure of a legal system is not how it treats the powerful when they are secure, but how it treats the vulnerable when they are exposed. Law at its noblest is a shield for those without a voice,” he added.

  – Suruchi Kumari

• February 28, 2026 11:48

  If politics is visible architecture of a nation, law is its invisible foundation: Abhishek Singhvi

  The chief guest of the conclave, senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi, said that the nation is ultimately governed not only by those who hold office, but also by those who interpret, defend and refine its laws.

  Mr. Singhvi said that if politics is the visible architecture of a nation, then law is its invisible foundation.

• February 28, 2026 11:41

  G. Viswanathan requests Abhishek Singhvi to help in improving quality of law education

  The founder and Chancellor of VIT, G. Viswanathan, requested the chief guest, Abhishek Singhvi, to help in improving the quality of law education. 

  He said that the oldest law university, the University of Madras, hasn’t had a Vice Chancellor for the last three years.

• February 28, 2026 11:35

  ‘I am a lawyer by profession’: G. Viswanathan

  The founder and Chancellor of VIT, G. Viswanathan, said that he is a lawyer by profession, even though he had practised for just three years.

  In the presiding address said that law is a very important subject, adding that it is not just a profession “but a service to the country”. He also thanked The Hindu for arraging the law conclave.

  He added that the highest number of pending cases are India, adding that the number of pending cases in India as of January 2026 is around 5.4 crores.

  He said that we should go for a judicial reform.

• February 28, 2026 11:22

  ‘All societies are built on the rule of law’: Suresh Nambath

  The Editor of The Hindu, Suresh Nambath, in the welcome address, welcomed the dignitaries and the audience of The Hindu’s law conclave, Justice Unplugged 2026.

  He said that all societies, from those of ancient civilisation to those of modern nation states, are built on the rule of law.

  “In India, the Constitution, and not the Parliament, is supreme,” Mr. Nambath said.

  He also said that even though both represent the will of the people, the Constitution represents the voice of the people across generations.

• February 28, 2026 10:46

  Also read | International law is not dead, its rules stay resilient

  International law is not dead, its rules stay resilient

  International law is undergoing one of its darkest phases, but pronouncing its death is misleading