Politics
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Bar Council chief cannot also speak as party MP
Times of India··17 Aug
NALSAR students opposed inviting Chief Justice Surya Kant as convocation chief guest. On 13 August, Bar Council of India chairman Manan Kumar Mishra directed state bar councils not to enrol the 2026 batch until further orders. The council later withdrew the ban. Mishra is also a BJP Rajya Sabha MP. Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde said the letter lacked jurisdiction.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you are a 2026 NALSAR graduate, the blanket direction not to enrol you was later withdrawn by the Bar Council.
- Anyone seeking enrolment as an advocate can note that State Bar Councils, not a chairman's letter, handle that statutory function.
- If you follow campus speech, students had objected to the Chief Justice as convocation guest after remarks on police videos.
What's Happening
- On 13 August 2026, BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra told state councils not to enrol NALSAR's 2026 batch.
- The same evening the council modified the order and said all those graduates could enrol.
- Hegde wrote that a Bar Council chief cannot represent the Bar and a political party at once.
Why Students Objected To The Convocation Guest
- A section of students wrote to the vice-chancellor after the Chief Justice declined to watch video of police action against protesters.
- The first BCI letter sought a report identifying students and faculty said to have organised the campaign.
- A separate alumni petition in the Supreme Court has sought a probe into how the directives were issued.
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