Overview
- The National Law School of India University issued a notice on Thursday, August 27, saying it cannot hold the 34th Annual Convocation set for September 12 and will instead confer degrees in absentia after governing-body approvals.
- Graduates will receive formal degrees without a ceremony and may choose to have certificates dispatched by courier or collected from campus through a form the university will circulate to the class of 2026.
- More than 700 members of the NLSIU community — 165 graduating students, 409 current students and 128 alumni — signed a public statement opposing invitations to Chief Justice Surya Kant and BCI chair Manan Kumar Mishra and seeking accountability from the BCI.
- The move follows the NALSAR episode in mid-August when the Bar Council of India briefly directed state bar councils not to enrol that university’s 2026 graduates, then withdrew the order and apologised after widespread criticism.
- The cancellation removes an in-person milestone for students and shifts attention to wider questions about regulator powers, campus dissent and how universities manage high-profile guests; the CJI reportedly held a lengthy discussion with NLSIU students during the dispute.