'No student shall suffer without fault': BCI lifts NALSAR enrolment bar after CJI row

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has lifted its earlier restriction on the enrolment of 2026 graduates of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, allowing all students to enrol with the State Bar Council of their choice, ANI reported.

The decision came after the BCI Council reviewed its earlier order and considered a fresh report indicating that the vast majority of NALSAR’s 2026 graduating students were innocent and had not intended to participate in any move aimed at showing disrespect, according to a BCI communication dated August 13 and signed by Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra.

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The council said it had “thoroughly discussed and deliberated” on its earlier communication concerning the factual inquiry and enrolment of NALSAR’s 2026 graduates.

“Accordingly, the Council modifies the order of the Chairman with regard to the ban on the enrolment of the NALSAR Students with the State Bar Councils. All the students will be entitled to get enrolled with the State Bar Councils of their choice,” the communication said, according to ANI.

The BCI, however, said it would await the factual inquiry report from the NALSAR Vice-Chancellor before deciding whether any further action was required.

The development comes amid a controversy over an alleged campaign at NALSAR concerning the proposed participation of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant in the university’s convocation. The BCI had earlier sought a factual report from the university into the circumstances surrounding the campaign and the people allegedly involved in initiating or organising it.

The council said it had also received information from “some reliable sources” that a handful of teachers and outsiders were allegedly instrumental in instigating students. Any further action on the matter will be considered after the Vice-Chancellor submits the inquiry report, ANI reported.

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The BCI has now made clear that the entire 2026 graduating batch should not be prevented from entering the legal profession over allegations concerning the conduct of some individuals.

“No student shall be made to suffer without any fault on his part,” the council said in its latest communication.

The earlier BCI direction had asked State Bar Councils not to enrol NALSAR’s 2026 law graduates until further orders. It had also sought details of those allegedly involved in initiating, drafting, circulating, coordinating or mobilising the campaign, including any student body, faculty member, research scholar, alumnus or outsider involved.

The council had clarified that merely signing or supporting a representation would not automatically disqualify a student from enrolment. It had sought to distinguish between those who only supported a representation and those who allegedly organised or coordinated a campaign or sought to mobilise a boycott, obstruction or disruption.

The BCI had also said that if the name of a particular applicant was communicated for further statutory consideration, the concerned State Bar Council should defer the enrolment decision during the inquiry. Such communication, it had stressed, would not by itself amount to a final finding of misconduct or disqualification.

With its latest decision, NALSAR’s 2026 graduates can now proceed with enrolment before the State Bar Council of their choice, while the factual inquiry into the convocation-related controversy continues.

The BCI communication, issued with the approval of the Council, was addressed to the NALSAR Vice-Chancellor and the secretaries of all State Bar Councils. The council will consider the matter further after receiving the Vice-Chancellor’s report, ANI reported.

(With inputs from TOI and ANI)