NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday expressed “strong disapproval” of the Bar Council of India’s (BCI) now-revoked order barring the enrolment of 2026 graduates of Hyderabad’s NALSAR University of Law as advocates after a section of students objected to the university inviting Chief Justice of India Surya Kant as the chief guest at its convocation ceremony.Also Read | ‘What if all legal cockroaches come together?’: CJP chief Abhijeet Dipke reacts to BCI action against NALSAR graduatesKant, heading a bench also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said students have a right to protest peacefully and described the episode as a “dialogue” between him and the students.“If students are protesting peacefully, who is BCI to take action? It is the right of the students to protest peacefully. It is a dialogue between students and me. No one else has to step in,” the CJI said.Expressing its strong disapproval, the Supreme Court also stayed any coercive action against students or faculty by BCI or state Councils.“It (the letter) was absolutely uncalled for,” the bench added.The bench posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.On Thursday, the BCI had directed all state bar councils not to enrol any 2026 graduate of NALSAR University of Law as an advocate until further orders. It withdrew the directive within hours following an uproar on social media.
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In its initial statement, BCI chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra said the council was examining allegations regarding a campaign against CJI Kant’s participation in the university’s convocation and had sought a report identifying those responsible.The BCI later modified its decision and allowed state bar councils to enrol the university’s 2026 graduates as advocates before withdrawing the notification altogether.The revised notification stated that the “vast majority” of students were innocent and should not be made to suffer for the alleged “misconduct” of a few.Around 450 graduating students of NALSAR had urged the university to reconsider inviting CJI Kant as chief guest, citing his alleged refusal to hear pleas concerning “police brutality” against students who had marched to Parliament on July 20 seeking the resignation of then-Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG question paper leak in May. Pradhan’s resignation on July 25 brought the protests to an end.
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