Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has questioned the Bar Council of India\u2019s decision to act against students of the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research after they opposed his proposed appearance as chief guest at the university\u2019s convocation. He said the matter was a discussion between the students and him, and that the Bar Council had no role in intervening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During a Supreme Court hearing, the Chief Justice said students have the right to protest peacefully. He observed that even if their position were considered incorrect, they could not be stopped from expressing it through lawful means. According to him, the issue should not have been escalated by an external regulatory body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The controversy began after a section of NALSAR students objected to the invitation extended to Chief Justice Surya Kant for the university\u2019s convocation. The students referred to remarks attributed to him during a recent Supreme Court hearing concerning allegations of police action against protesters in Delhi. They said receiving their degrees from a dignitary whose conduct appeared dismissive of serious allegations did not sit comfortably with the values taught at a law university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bar Council of India initially responded with a blanket order directing State Bar Councils not to enrol any student who obtained a law degree from NALSAR in 2026. It also sought details of students and faculty members allegedly involved in the campaign opposing the invitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The order immediately raised concerns because it affected an entire graduating batch rather than only those who may have organised or participated in the protest. Since enrolment with a State Bar Council is required for law graduates who wish to practise as advocates, the decision had the potential to delay the careers of many students who may not have been involved in the campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The BCI later withdrew the blanket restriction and clarified that all students graduating from NALSAR in 2026 would be entitled to enrol with the State Bar Council of their choice. The Council said its decision followed a review indicating that the vast majority of students were innocent and had not intended to show disrespect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the controversy has not ended completely. The BCI has said that an inquiry into the episode will continue, and individual action has not been ruled out against those found to have organised the campaign or played a specific role in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chief Justice\u2019s remarks have added a constitutional dimension to the dispute, placing the focus on the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression and the limits of regulatory authority. His observation that the matter was essentially a dialogue between the students and him has also raised questions about whether the BCI\u2019s initial response went beyond its role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the NALSAR students, the withdrawal of the enrolment ban removes an immediate threat to their professional future. But the episode has opened a wider debate about academic freedom, institutional accountability and how legal education bodies should respond when students express disagreement with constitutional authorities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has questioned the Bar Council of India\u2019s decision to act against students of the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research after they opposed his proposed appearance as chief guest at the university\u2019s convocation. He said the matter was a discussion between the students and him, and that the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2844"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2845,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2844\/revisions\/2845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}