The Supreme Court ruled that the BCI has no power to punish law students

Students of NALSAR Law University on a protest demonstration. File | Photo credit: Special arrangement

The Supreme Court on Thursday (September 3, 2026) said the Bar Council of India (BCI) and its chairman Manan Kumar Mishra do not have the power to discipline or penalize law students and reprimanded the regulatory body for trying to intimidate NALSAR students exercising their constitutional right to protest.

The court insisted on clarifying the limits of the BCI’s powers even as the BCI withdrew its August 13 letters to the NALSAR administration to initiate an inquiry against the students and state bar councils to block their professional registration.

A three-judge bench headed by India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant said the regulation, which demarcates the boundary for BCI, was designed to protect university space and the right of students to freely express dissent against future attempts at infringement.

“The BCI has no jurisdiction or statutory power as far as the students are concerned. This applies to their universities,” observed Chief Justice Kant.

“On a thorough consideration of the matter, we are of the view that the Advocates Act, 1961 does not confer, either expressly or by implication, any power on the Bar Council of India and the State Bar Councils to take any disciplinary or punitive action against the law students,” the court said in the order.

Mr. Mishra, who was present, said that BCI has a role to play in regulating legal education. But the court said the BCI can intervene only after registration. His disciplinary powers under the Advocates Act 1961 were of course limited to registered advocates.

“Till then BCI did not come into the picture… To say that the student will not be enrolled…” Justice Joymalya Bagchi said, leaving the sentence unfinished.

The court was hearing a petition filed by two former NALSAR alumni, represented by senior advocate K. Parameshwar and advocate Rupali Samuel, seeking legal action against BCI and the chairman for threatening a group of NALSAR students in 2026.

Students protested against the CJI being the chief guest at their convocation following his oral comments in court in which he likened youths to “cockroaches” and “parasites”. The petition said the BCI letters had a chilling effect on freedom of expression and freedom of association among students.

Mr. Mishra said the letters sent to NALSAR and state bar councils were withdrawn “within an hour”. He said there was no reason for further action and the dispute should be hushed up.

However, the court agreed with Mr. Parameshwar that the court should protect students from any such violation of their rights by authorities acting without jurisdiction in future. Such a situation should never arise, the senior lawyer said.

He clarified that only the parent university or the competent authority under the law has disciplinary authority over students.

The bench said the BCI’s August 13 letters were “obsolete”.

Published – 03 Sep 2026 13:24 IST