Now Reading: BCI drops NALSAR enrolment freeze after student protest row
-
01
BCI drops NALSAR enrolment freeze after student protest row
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has closed all proceedings against the 2026 graduating batch of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, after a day of chaos. Chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra announced the…
The Story in Brief
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has closed all proceedings against the 2026 graduating batch of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, after a day of chaos. Chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra announced the decision late on Tuesday, saying the batch had no role in any disturbance. The reversal came hours after the BCI ordered all state bar councils to freeze enrolment of the batch, following a section of NALSAR students' objection to inviting Chief Justice of India Surya Kant as convocation chief guest.
The students had written to the university in July, citing CJI Kant's reported remarks dismissing video evidence of alleged police excesses during a July 20 protest. The BCI's initial order, which also sought details of the campaign, sparked outrage from the Supreme Court Bar Association and social media users, prompting the U-turn. The BCI later said it had decided to end all proceedings after representations from senior advocates and the public.
The Indian Opinion
Two wrongs do not make a right. The BCI's initial order to blacklist an entire batch for a handful of student emails was a disproportionate abuse of regulatory muscle, rightly withdrawn after backlash. Yet some narratives frame the students' objection to CJI Surya Kant as a heroic act of dissent, glossing over whether the criticism of a judge's remarks on police excess was itself based on a selective reading of the court's behaviour. The real test: will the BCI now issue clear guidelines distinguishing principled protest from ridicule, or will this controversy be forgotten until the next campus flare-up?
Sources (2): hindustantimes.com, timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
