The Bar Council of India on Thursday night dropped all proceedings against students of the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research graduating in 2026 who had opposed the participation of Chief Justice Surya Kant in the university’s convocation.
Earlier in the day, the council had announced that students from the graduating batch would not be enrolled as advocates for the campaign against the chief justice. It withdrew the decision a few hours later.
However, the council said that it had sought an inquiry report from the university identifying those who were “principally instrumental” in opposing Kant’s participation in the convocation.
On Thursday night, Bar Council Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said that all proceedings against the students would be closed “after considering the representations and reactions of senior advocates, learned members of the Bar, law students and public-spirited citizens, and being satisfied that the 2026 batch of NALSAR, Hyderabad, had no role in any disturbance or movement”.
The council’s earlier directives had drawn criticism from the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign, which described them as “grossly disproportionate”. It warned of protests by law students and advocates if the directives were not withdrawn.
Students’ objection to Kant
Last month, a group of students urged the university to reconsider its invitation to the chief justice to be the chief guest for their convocation, citing Kant’s response to a petition alleging that police had used excessive force against protesters in Delhi on July 20.
On July 22, a bench headed by the chief justice refused to urgently hear a petition about police excesses against protesters. “Don’t waste our time and don’t waste your time,” Kant had reportedly told the petitioners.
When the lawyer for the petitioners said that he could present video evidence of the police excesses, the chief justice had said the bench was “not interested” in watching them.
Referring to the remarks, the students had told the university authorities that they did not think it was appropriate to receive their degrees from a dignitary whose recent public conduct appeared dismissive of serious allegations of police brutality against protesting citizens.
Bar council directive to university
In a communication addressed to state bar councils and NALSAR Vice-Chancellor Srikrishna Deva Rao, Mishra had asked the university to submit a factual report within three days about the persons involved in mobilising the “organised campaign” against the chief justice’s participation.
The council chairman also asked the vice-chancellor to include in the report a complete copy of the “representation, petition, memorandum or other communication submitted to the university by the students. He said that the full list of the signatories to the representations should be submitted.
The BCI further told the university to identify those who were involved in initiating the “campaign” through press, social media or mobilising any “call for boycott, obstruction, disruption or organised non-participation in the convocation” or any other programme connected with Kant.
*Written by Sneha. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava. *
Also read: What the Bar Council’s bid to curb NALSAR students says about university autonomy
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