CJI protest: Bar Council’s U-turn; NALSAR students can enrol
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New Delhi: The Bar Council of India (BCI) has withdrawn its initial order blocking the enrolment of 2026 law graduates of the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Hyderabad, as advocates. Following its review of the matter, the BCI said the vast majority of the graduating students were not involved in the campaign against Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and allowed the entire batch to enrol with the State Bar Council of their choice. The BCI has, nevertheless, sought a report from the NALSAR Vice-Chancellor on the controversy.
The BCI had initially directed all State Bar Councils not to enrol any NALSAR graduate from the 2026 batch until further orders. The move drew widespread criticism after students opposed the reported invitation of Chief Justice Surya Kant as the chief guest for the university’s 2026 convocation.
More than 450 NALSAR students ultimately signed a representation to university authorities, including the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar, seeking reconsideration of the invitation. The first representation was submitted on July 23 by around 70 students from the graduating batch, with students from other batches later joining the objection. Their opposition followed the Supreme Court’s handling of alleged police excesses against protesters during the July 20 Parliament march at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
During a July 22 hearing, the Chief Justice-led bench declined an urgent request to intervene over alleged police brutality, with the CJI saying the court did not have time to watch videos presented by the petitioner’s counsel. Students cited that episode in their representation and also objected to remarks attributed to the CJI comparing Indian youth with “cockroaches”. The CJI subsequently said reports that he had refused to hear a petition were false because no formal petition had been filed at that stage and only a representation had been made.
The students stressed that their protest was not directed against the constitutional office of the Chief Justice. Instead, they questioned whether recent judicial actions and remarks were compatible with the values expected at a law university’s convocation, including constitutional rights, a commitment to justice, access to justice, and accountability for grievances.
The BCI’s initial communication had sought a factual report from the NALSAR Vice-Chancellor identifying those principally involved in initiating or organising the campaign. After reviewing the latest report, the council concluded that the vast majority of the 2026 graduating cohort was innocent and lifted the enrolment restriction.