On Thursday, the Supreme Court raised concerns regarding the Bar Council of India’s (BCI) involvement with the graduating class of 2026 at NALSAR University of Law. This intervention followed objections from students about Chief Justice of India Surya Kant being invited as the chief guest for their convocation ceremony. The Court clarified that the BCI does not have the authority to discipline law students for actions that fall within their university’s jurisdiction until they graduate and officially enroll as advocates under relevant legal provisions.
The Court made it clear that the BCI’s role in legal education does not give it disciplinary authority over students who are still enrolled at a university.
“As far as the conduct of law students is concerned, the Bar Council of India has neither jurisdiction nor statutory competence. That falls exclusively within the domain of the educational institution or university. There cannot be any dispute about that. After a student graduates and registers himself or herself as an advocate, the Bar Council comes into the picture. It is then the statutory authority responsible for regulating advocates. But none of these students had enrolled as advocates, “Bar and Bench quoted the court as saying. The students expressed their concerns over remarks made by the CJI during a Supreme Court hearing concerning fake degrees and subsequently wrote to the university, urging it to reconsider the invitation.
The controversy began after students from NALSAR’s 2026 graduating batch objected to the proposed invitation of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant as the chief guest for their convocation.
