NALSAR student body now demands apology from Bar Council chairman

The Student Bar Council at NALSAR University of Law has condemned the Bar Council of India for issuing a ban on the outgoing 2026 batch of students. The controversy began after around 450 out of NALSAR's 1,400 students protested against inviting Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to the university convocation. Initially, the Bar Council of India issued a ban on enrolling any 2026 graduate from NALSAR University of Law as an advocate until further notice.

However, this directive was soon withdrawn by Manan Kumar Mishra, the BCI chairperson. The student body's letter, issued late on Friday, acknowledged the rescission of the BCI's letter but emphasized the need to condemn the event at four levels: statutory, constitutional, first principles, and in the context of wider social realities of repression and unfreedom.

The letter rejects the idea that constitutional fidelity requires silence, stating that no institution, including the Supreme Court and the CJI, is beyond legitimate scrutiny in a constitutional democracy. The students argue that universities exist to cultivate values such as independent thought, critical inquiry, and the courage to question authority.

They reject the language used in the BCI's initial letter, which they found highly objectionable and a violation of Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression. The students assert that the BCI's demands are in violation of democratic principles and argue that NALSAR is facing a choice between acquiescing in the shrinking of democratic space or affirming the importance of universities as institutions that uphold constitutional freedoms.