NALSAR Row: Lawyers Demand BCI Chief’s Resignation, CJP Backs Protest
Demonstration targets Manan Kumar Mishra over withdrawn NALSAR enrolment order
A protest seeking the resignation of Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Manan Kumar Mishra over the council’s now-withdrawn order barring the enrolment of the 2026 graduating batch of NALSAR University of Law as advocates began in New Delhi on Thursday, with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) backing the demonstration.
A group of lawyers gathered outside the BCI headquarters and raised slogans against Mishra. The protest was called by the All India Young Advocates Association, with CJP spokesperson Saurav Das extending support to the demonstration and the demand for Mishra’s resignation.
The controversy began after some NALSAR students wrote to the university’s vice chancellor, registrar and professors opposing a proposal to invite Chief Justice of India Surya Kant as the chief guest at the university’s convocation.
The BCI subsequently directed state bar councils not to enrol students from NALSAR’s current graduating batch as advocates. Mishra had said the council was examining allegations surrounding a campaign against the CJI’s participation in the convocation and had sought a report identifying those allegedly responsible.
The directive was withdrawn within hours following criticism from members of the legal fraternity. A subsequent modified order clarified that the “vast majority of students were innocent” and should not be made to suffer for the alleged misconduct of a few.
CJI Surya Kant later criticised the BCI’s action, describing the matter as a “dialogue between students and me”. The NALSAR Student Bar Council subsequently sought a public apology from Mishra.
In an Independence Day statement, Mishra apologised if anything connected with the controversy or his remarks had hurt law students’ feelings.
“If anything connected with the present controversy, any of my words, or letter, has hurt the feelings of our law students, I sincerely regret and apologise for the same,” Mishra said.
He also said students of National Law Universities were among the country’s most informed and discerning young citizens and that their views could carry significance beyond individual controversies.
Meanwhile, graduating students, current students and alumni of NLSIU, Bengaluru, issued a joint statement seeking an apology and opposing the presence of the BCI chairman and the CJI at their convocation.
