Overview
- On August 13 the Bar Council of India directed all State Bar Councils not to enrol any 2026 graduates of NALSAR and asked the university to identify students and others who organised objections to the Chief Justice’s proposed convocation visit.
- Hours after that order, the Supreme Court restrained the BCI and state bar councils from taking punitive or criminal action against students and faculty and the Chief Justice said students have a right to protest.
- Following broad legal‑fraternity and student backlash, the BCI withdrew the enrolment freeze, announced it had closed the proceedings against the graduating batch, and chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra issued a public apology to law students.
- Students and alumni at the National Law School of India University have opposed the attendance of both the Chief Justice and the BCI chair at their convocation and have demanded an unconditional apology and clearer protocols for use of the BCI letterhead.
- The episode has prompted fresh scrutiny of the BCI’s authority under the Advocates Act, highlighted risks that regulator actions could chill campus dissent, and could prompt reviews of how convocations and institutional complaints are handled going forward.