Reimagining Justice: The 4th Ashok Desai Memorial Lecture
Chief Justice Surya Kant will reflect on where the Indian judiciary stands fifty years hence, while historian Manu S. Pillai traces the colonial legal order and the making of the modern Indian constitutional republic.
Published on: 10 April 2026, 10:37 am
THE 4TH ASHOK DESAI MEMORIAL LECTURE is set to take place on Monday, April 13, 2026, at the Kamala Devi Multi-Purpose Hall, India International Centre, Max Muller Marg, New Delhi. The evening will open with an address by the Chief Justice of India, followed by a lecture by historian and author Manu S. Pillai.
Remembering Ashok Desai
Ashok H. Desai, Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India, served as the Solicitor General of India between December 1989 and December 1990, and subsequently served as Attorney General for India between July 1996 and May 1998. In 2001, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian honours in the country.
Described by peers as “a legend who always stood tall,” Desai earned his reputation as a fierce defender of civil liberties. During the Emergency of 1975–77, he took on pro bono cases challenging the abuse of State power. His practice in the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court was defined by a commitment to accountability in public life and transparency in governance.
His landmark appearances include the Navtej Singh Johar case, which led to the decriminalisation of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Nandini Sundar case challenging the State-sponsored Salwa Judum militia in Chhattisgarh; and the Narmada dam litigation. The lecture series bearing his name is a tribute to his lifelong commitment to justice, civil liberties, and the rule of law.
The Speakers
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant
The 53rd Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant will open the evening with an address titled ‘Reimagining Justice: The Indian Judiciary 50 Years Hence’.
Chief Justice Kant was the youngest-ever Advocate General of Haryana. His judicial career spans over two decades. He was first appointed to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2004, and later became the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2018. In 2019, he was elevated to the Supreme Court. He assumed the office of Chief Justice of India on November 24, 2025. He is due to retire in February 2027.
Manu S. Pillai
The second speaker of the evening, Manu S. Pillai, is a historian whose work focuses on pre-colonial and colonial India. His work focuses specifically on how individuals and institutions negotiated imperial, dynastic, or colonial authority. His lecture, titled ‘Resisting Injustice: The Raj, the Law, and the Making of Modern India’, extends this inquiry to the colonial legal order specifically.
Pillai is the author of five celebrated works of popular history which include: The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore (2015); Rebel Sultans: The Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji (2018); The Courtesan, the Mahatma & the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History (2019); False Allies: India's Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma (2021); and most recently, Gods, Guns and Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity (2024).
The programme will begin at 5:30 PM with high tea, followed by the main event at 6:00 PM.