BCI bars Nalsar students over CJI Surya Kant protest, retracts

NEW DELHI: If the directive was unusual, the withdrawal was dramatic.Bar Council of India (BCI) on Thursday took back its communication — hours after issuing it — to Hyderabad-based Nalsar University of Law that said those who organised opposition to the invitation to CJI Surya Kant for the institute’s convocation would not be enrolled as advocates.In a fresh communication late evening, BCI chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra said the council had “thoroughly discussed and deliberated” on his earlier letter to Nalsar’s vice-chancellor and state bar council secretaries and modified its direction.BCI — the statutory regulating body for legal education and profession — is of the unanimous view that, according to the “latest report”, vast majority of Nalsar’s 2026 graduating students were innocent and “were not inclined to take part in the move of disrespect”, he said. However, Mishra said, “It has been further reported by some reliable sources that a handful of teachers and outsiders were instrumental in instigating innocent students.” BCI will wait for the “inquiry report” from Nalsar, he said in the fresh letter, which he posted on his X handle.SCBA president Vikas Singh reacted sharply to BCI chairperson’s earlier letter to Nalsar by condemning its ‘arbitrary’ decision to stall enrolment of law graduates from the university. Singh said the decision is illegal, disproportionate and fundamentally unsustainable. However, he said he did not support the section of students who opposed the invitation to the CJI.This story continues on page 10 in the newspaper. For your reading convenience we have added it below.Disrespectful law students are a liability, says BCI chiefIn his earlier letter to one of India’s top law schools, Mishra had sought a “factual report” about the persons instrumental in “intimidation of a constitutional functionary” by initiating, organising or mobilising the campaign against participation of CJI at the convocation ceremony.BCI chairperson had said, “Till further orders, no student of Nalsar University of Law, who has obtained law degree in the year 2026, shall be enrolled by any state bar council as an advocate.” He said a final decision on this issue would be taken on Aug 19 after receiving a report from VC.The council had requested Nalsar to differentiate between persons who have merely signed or supported the representations from those who organised or coordinated the campaign and those who proposed or mobilised an actual boycott, obstruction or disruption. “BCI does not, at this stage, record that any person stands disqualified from enrolment under Section 24A (of Advocates Act) merely on account of participation in the aforesaid representation or campaign,” Mishra had said in his first letter.TOI on Aug 10 had reported that a section of students at Nalsar had requested the university to reconsider inviting CJI Kant for its upcoming convocation taking exception to CJI’s remarks during the hearing on alleged police excesses against student protesters’ march to Parliament on July 20. The petitioner wanted the CJI-led bench to go through the video footage of police action. CJI turned down the plea saying he did not have time to watch videos.The university has not yet finalised the date of convocation, for which the CJI had been traditionally invited as the chief guest.In his first communication, the BCI chief had said, “A student of Law, having no regard or respect for the highest judicial office of the country, is not expected to be a responsible or sensible advocate, teacher or a judge. Such persons shall always be a liability on the profession. Such conduct reflects adversely upon the person’s suitability for entry into or association with the legal profession and is inconsistent with the dignity, discipline and ethical standards of the legal profession.” He said, “As per some reliable sources, there exists groupism and dirty politics among some of the academic staff and they have played a very active role in misleading, instigating and misguiding the students. This is a very serious matter. The teachers, instead of involving themselves in their teaching job, are doing nasty politics in the campus. BCI, being the regulator of Legal Education cannot be a mute spectator of such a serious situation.”“However, where material concerning the conduct of a particular applicant is under active statutory examination by the BCI and such examination may have a bearing upon regulatory considerations governing entry into the profession, completion of enrolment during pendency of such examination may create a fait accompli and render the statutory examination ineffective,” it had said asking the state bar councils to withhold registration of law graduates from Nalsar till further orders.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.