# BCI chief apologises to law students over NALSAR enrolment row 2026-08-16T07:43:44+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 4 independent outlets Bar Council of India chairman Manan Kumar Mishra has apologised to students over the BCI's order that halted enrolment of NALSAR University of Law's 2026 graduating batch. "If anything connected with the present controversy, any of my words, or letter, has hurt the feelings of our law students, I sincerely regret and apologise for the same," Mishra said, as per Businesstoday.in. He added that no student should be compelled to attend or abstain from the convocation. The BCI had on August 13 directed all state bar councils not to enrol NALSAR's 2026 graduates after students objected to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant attending their convocation as chief guest. The order was withdrawn within hours after criticism from the legal fraternity. Students and alumni of NLSIU Bengaluru issued a joint statement demanding an unconditional apology from the BCI, Rediff.com reported. They opposed CJI Surya Kant and Mishra attending NLSIU's convocation, calling it "offensive and humiliating". The Supreme Court, presided over by CJI Surya Kant, rebuked the BCI for its actions, calling them "uncalled for", Livemint reported. The court granted interim protection from punishment and welcomed NALSAR graduates to practice at the Supreme Court bar. NLSIU students have demanded that the BCI explain the protocol for use of its official letterhead by its chairperson. ## Coverage - businesstoday.in - rediff.com - thenewsminute.com - livelaw.in This story was synthesised by AI from the 4 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 4 sources. Last updated 2026-08-16T07:50:41+00:00. Tags: BCI, CJI Surya Kant, Manan Kumar Mishra, NALSAR, NLSIU Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bci-chief-apologises-to-nalsar-students-after-convocation-row/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bci-chief-apologises-to-nalsar-students-after-convocation-row/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/