The Supreme Court has ruled that the Bar Council of India lacks the authority to impose disciplinary actions against law students. This decision came during the hearing of a case involving NALSAR University, where the Bar Council had initially issued a disciplinary order against certain students but later rescinded it. The court’s remarks are seen as a significant relief for law students across the country, underscoring the limitations of the Bar Council’s power in this context.
The Supreme Court made it clear that the Bar Council of India (BCI) and State Bar Councils do not possess the statutory authority to initiate disciplinary action against law students. A Bar Council gets disciplinary jurisdiction over a law graduate only after they are enrolled as an advocate, the court added. Two alumni of NALSAR, Mihira Sood and Abhishek Tiwari, had approached the Supreme Court in this matter. Manan Kumar Mishra informed the court that the directives in question had been immediately withdrawn and the matter had been closed following a BCI meeting.
The Supreme Court declared that the directives by the BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra on August 13 were issued without any legal authority. The BCI order had called for halting the enrollment of the 2026 batch students at Hyderabad’s NALSAR University of Law and initiating an inquiry against students and faculty regarding an alleged a campaign against the CJI.
