“Done In Haste”: Bar Council Chief On Order Against Law Students And U-Turn

Manan Kumar Mishra, the chairman of the Bar Council of India (BCI), has acknowledged that the BCI acted in “haste” and that the decision was recalled following discussions. Mishra caused controversy with his action and subsequent U-turn on an order against NALSAR law students.

On Thursday nite, the Bar Council of India revoked its directive prohibiting students from the 2026 class of the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), a law school in Hyderabad, from becoming advocates.

A few hours prior, after students at Hyderabad’s NALSAR University of Law protested against Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s invitation to attend the university’s convocation, the BCI had ordered all State Bar Councils to refrain from enrolling any graduates as advocates until further directives. Mishra acknowledged on Friday that the initial directive was given hastily when discussing his action and later reversal.

“It was a hasty decision. The council had detailed deliberations and decided to change the order. The issue now stands closed,” Manan Mishra, who is also a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, told .

“We don’t want any confrontation between the Bar and the students,” he added. “The council realised that the order could lead to a clash between the students and the judiciary, and we withdrew it within 40 minutes.” The new notification modified the earlier order, saying the “vast majority” of the students were innocent and should not be made to suffer for the alleged misconduct of a few.

BCI Chairman Mishra stated in the new message that the organization’s members had carefully considered the previous letter and had unanimously agreed to change the policy on student enrolment. “All the students will be entitled to get enrolled with the State Bar Councils of their choice,” he said in the letter.

Mishra’s clarification and U-turn came after massive backlash over the move. AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi lashed out at the BCI chief, asking what powers Mishra had to pass such an order.

“Students have every right to object to the participation of a public figure at their university. You can disagree but not threaten their careers just because it troubles you. The larger goal seems clear: to ban independent thinking in law universities and to create a pliant academic culture,” Owaisi posted on X.

Rejecting Owaisi’s remarks, Mishra said that the AIMIM leader was trying to politicise the issue. “The chapter is closed. There is no point in using this to play politics,” he said. ” He asked everyone to treat the chapter as “closed” and proceed with consideration for the students’ interests.