‘Our interests are the same’: BCI chief Manan Mishra reacts to CJP amid NALSAR-CJI row

In his first response to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) following the NALSAR-CJI controversy, Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Manan Mishra said Friday that the group and the Council share the same objective of protecting students’ rights.

“I want to communicate to Abhijeet Dipke and Sourav Das that our interests are the same as theirs, to protect the rights of the students,” Mishra said.

His remarks came days after the BCI ordered a freeze on the enrolment of the entire 2026 graduating batch of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, over a controversy surrounding opposition by some students to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant attending the university’s convocation as chief guest. The BCI later withdrew the enrolment order.

Mishra also said a separate order concerning judicial internships had been completely withdrawn following an emergency meeting of the Council and that no inquiry would be conducted.

He said the BCI’s primary objective was to ensure that law students do not face difficulties or suffer losses while seeking judicial internships.

“An order was issued yesterday, but the Council’s meeting was held immediately. The Council discussed it and said, ‘No, there is no need for this’,” Mishra said.

He added that the intention was to ensure that students were not denied internship opportunities in the judiciary because of administrative decisions or other restrictions.

Mishra pointed to previous instances in which restrictions had been imposed on judicial internships, including reducing the duration of Supreme Court internships from a week to two days, along with other limitations.

The BCI chairman said the Council acted quickly to prevent such measures from adversely affecting students’ academic and professional careers.

BCI-NALSAR row

The controversy began after a group of NALSAR students wrote to the university’s vice-chancellor, registrar and professors opposing any proposal to invite CJI Surya Kant as chief guest for the convocation.

According to a previous Hindustan Times report, the first representation was submitted on July 23, 2026, by 70 members of the outgoing LLB batch. Students from several subsequent batches later expressed support for the representation.

The students cited remarks made by the CJI in the Supreme Court while hearing a petition concerning alleged police excesses against protesters during a student demonstration at Jantar Mantar on July 20.