Bengaluru, The Students and Alumni of the National Law School of India University here have opposed CJI Surya Kant and Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra attending the upcoming convocation of the varsity.
In a statement dated August 15, the students and alumni condemned the now-withdrawn BCI order to halt the enrolment of students of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, and expressed their solidarity with the students at NALSAR, who they said have shown exemplary courage and moral conviction in speaking truth to power. Students have a right to protest, the CJI-led bench said a day after the BCI directed all state bar councils not to enrol any 2026 graduate of the university until further orders. “We are aware that the BCI has closed all proceedings against NALSAR. In a country where access to higher education is severely restricted by barriers of class, caste and gender, and poorly designed and conducted entrance examinations, a convocation marks an important achievement for families. They have demanded that the Bar Council of India unconditionally apologise to the student and faculty community at NALSAR for attempting to infringe their fundamental right to free speech and expression. The order was reversed within hours after an uproar on social media.
However, the fact that such unconstitutional and illegal “proceedings” can be initiated by a statutory body against students and faculty members of a public university in the first place does not alter the nature or the larger impact of such actions or dilute the responsibility of the Chairman and the BCI,” the statement signed by 165 graduating students of the Class of 2026, 409 current students and 128 alumni. A university convocation is a monumental event in a student’s academic life, meant to celebrate years of hard work and perseverance, according to them. “It’s a dialogue between students and me,” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said on August 14 as he sharply pulled up the Bar Council of India for its order that the 2026 graduates of Hyderabad’s NALSAR University of Law not be enrolled as advocates following their objections to his proposed campus visit.
