The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Thursday night withdrew, within hours, its order freezing the enrolment of the entire 2026 graduating batch of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, hours after its initial action triggered a protest threat from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which recently led a mega youth protest from Delhi’s Jantar Mantar against exam irregularities, resulting in the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan
BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra then, announcing the withdrawal of the order, said in a post on X at around 8:45 on Thursday, “After detailed deliberation, the @barcouncilindia has modified its earlier directions concerning @NALSAR_Official. All 2026 passed-out students of NALSAR will now be entitled to seek enrolment with the State Bar Council of their choice. The controversy began after 70 members of NALSAR’s outgoing LLB batch submitted a representation on July 23 opposing CJI Kant’s proposed participation as chief guest at the university’s convocation.
HT reported earlier that the BCI’s initial order had sought an authenticated report identifying those who had initiated, organised, coordinated or mobilised the campaign against the CJI’s proposed participation in the convocation. The factual inquiry will continue, and further action will follow on the basis of the report. No student shall be made to suffer without any fault on his or her part. He demanded that the BCI withdraw the communication in full and guarantee that no action would be taken against NALSAR students for their dissent. It had also sought details of representations, signatories, meetings, social-media groups and the involvement of faculty members, alumni, student organisations or outsiders. It was subsequently modified, with Mishra saying, “No student shall be made to suffer without any fault on his part. Students from other batches later expressed solidarity with the representation.
“No student at NALSAR should face any inquiry or witch hunt for their democratic dissent against the Chief Justice of India,” Das said. The initial BCI communication had directed state bar councils not to enrol NALSAR’s 2026 graduates “till further orders”. The BCI had on Thursday itself directed all state bar councils not to enroll any student from the batch while it sought details of those allegedly involved in a campaign opposing Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s participation in the university’s convocation.
The students’ objections followed remarks made by the CJI while hearing a plea concerning alleged police excesses during student protests in Delhi.
The campaign subsequently drew wider attention, including from the CJP, whose founder Abhijeet Dipke responded to the BCI’s initial action by writing on X: “What if all legal cockroaches come together?”
