# CJI Surya Kant says he never accepted NALSAR convocation invite 2026-08-17T17:32:16+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has clarified that he never consented to an invitation from NALSAR University to be the chief guest at its convocation. Speaking informally in Jodhpur after addressing vice-chancellors of National Law Universities, he said the question of attending the ceremony did not arise. His remarks come days after over 450 students of the 2026 batch objected to his presence over oral observations he made during a case related to a students' march to Parliament in July. The controversy escalated after Bar Council of India chairman Manan Kumar Mishra directed state bar councils not to enrol NALSAR's graduating students as advocates. The order was withdrawn within hours after widespread criticism. The Supreme Court later took a strong view of the BCI's intervention, calling it unnecessary and affirming students' right to dissent. The CJI had earlier called the BCI's move 'totally uncalled for'. With his latest clarification, the episode has effectively ended. NALSAR had confirmed it invited the CJI as per tradition. The convocation is expected in late August or September. ## Coverage - indiatoday.in - siasat.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-18T08:33:09+00:00. Tags: Bar Council of India, NALSAR University, Supreme Court, Surya Kant Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/cji-never-accepted-nalsar-convocation-invite-ends-row/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/cji-never-accepted-nalsar-convocation-invite-ends-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/