Institutions, including the courts, must have the courage to acknowledge error: A.M. Singhvi

If institutions, including the courts, have erred, they must have the courage to acknowledge the mistake, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said at the ‘Justice Unplugged: Shaping the Future of Law’ conclave on Saturday (February 28, 2026).

“The Constitution does not defend itself. It relies on disciplined minds and courageous voices… Institutions, including courts, can falter but courage must outlive error. The eventual judicial acknowledgement of that error demonstrates something equally powerful; that Constitutional systems possess the capacity for self-correction… The lesson is not to romanticise fallibility, but to recognise that vigilance is generational,” Mr. Singhvi said.

His observations were part of his address on February 28 as chief guest of the conclave organised by the Vellore Institute of Technology School of Law in association with The Hindu, to an audience of mostly young law students and lawyers.

Powerful interests may have the capacity to dent ambitions but they cannot take away the soul or conscience of Constitutionally protected judges and independent lawyers who stand firm by the truth, Mr. Singhvi said.

“Ultimately, when history judges such lawyers and judges, it normally gets its verdict right. The loaves and fishes of high office and of high posts are discounted by history. It elevates only those to a pedestal who have followed the call of their soul and the voice of their conscience,” Mr. Singhvi said.

The courts should apply Constitutional jurisprudence to protect the cherished rights of the common man from arbitrary excesses of the state, including preventive detention, he said. The judiciary’s role as protector of the Constitution is critical especially when the government tries to expand its Executive authority after moments of national trauma, he added.

The Constitution was not a museum artifact, but a living and pulsating compass, the senior advocate said.

“The law is ultimately about the people. Behind every Constitutional principle stands a human story — a prisoner seeking bail, a worker seeking wages, a woman seeking equality, a citizen seeking justice,” he said.

The character and strength of a legal system had to be measured by the protection it afforded the little person in dire need of access to justice, Mr. Singhvi 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.

Continuous dialogue about liberty, equality, governance among judges, advocates, and scholars is a life force in every democracy, Mr. Singhvi said. “Democracies decline when debate declines. Democracies strengthen when disagreement remains reasoned, respectful, and rooted in Constitutional fidelity,” he said.

Referring to the conclave’s theme of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the legal profession, Mr. Singhvi said AI was a remarkable tool, just like nuclear power, but which had to be used constructively and positively. “As long as AI is the slave and we are the master, AI is of great use,” he said. Legal practitioners form the protective wall against invasive technology, the senior advocate added.

A discussion on national building was not complete without economic national building, the senior advocate said, in the same way that politics is the “visible architecture of a nation, law is its invisible foundation”. Economic justice and economic growth are both mediated through law, he said.

“In the end, your legacy will not be measured by the number of reported judgments bearing your name. It will be measured by whether institutions were stronger because of your actions and your service to them, and to causes. Did you elevate the discourse? Did you protect the vulnerable? Did you resist expediency when principle demanded patience?” he told the young gathering as an insight into the future.