Now Reading: BBA, lawyers demand BCI chairman’s resignation over NALSAR order
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BBA, lawyers demand BCI chairman’s resignation over NALSAR order
The Bombay Bar Association (BBA) has condemned Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Manan Kumar Mishra's August 13 directive to state bar councils not to enrol NALSAR University's 2026 graduating batch as…
The Bombay Bar Association (BBA) has condemned Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Manan Kumar Mishra's August 13 directive to state bar councils not to enrol NALSAR University's 2026 graduating batch as advocates, calling it an 'abuse of power'. The BBA said the directive was issued without giving students a hearing and caused 'grave prejudice' to their careers. It said Mishra should have resigned over the episode, and his subsequent apology appeared aimed at merely 'assuaging the situation' rather than showing 'true remorse'.
On August 20, lawyers and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party protested outside the BCI office in Delhi, demanding Mishra's resignation. The protest was called by the All India Young Advocates Association. Heavy police and RAF personnel were deployed. Advocate Raman Sharma questioned Mishra's 14-year tenure and said the movement was by advocates against their own apex body. The controversy began after some NALSAR students objected to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant being invited as convocation chief guest over his comments on NEET student protests. Mishra later withdrew the directive and closed proceedings.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both sources report the same core events but frame them differently. Times of India gives primacy to the BBA's institutional criticism, characterising Mishra's action as an 'abuse of power' and focusing on the procedural lapse of not hearing students. Siasat leads with the street protest, amplifying the demand for resignation and including a critique of Mishra's 14-year tenure. The Times report notes the CJI called the order 'absolutely unnecessary', while Siasat adds the CJI restricted punitive action. Neither source is overtly pro-government or government-critical. A careful reader should note that while the BBA is an elite bar body, the Delhi protest involves smaller activist groups. The measured takeaway: institutional and activist pressure both target the same BCI order, but the resignation demand is not yet from the highest legal bodies. Watch whether more bar councils join the demand.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report), siasat.com (neutral report)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
