Student Bar Council (SBC) of NALSAR University of Law affirmed that universities must protect independent thought and criticism of authority.
The Student Bar Council (SBC) of NALSAR University of Law has strongly condemned the events of Thursday (August 13, 2026), after Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman and Member of Parliament Manan Kumar Mishra initially issued a blanket restriction preventing the university’s outgoing 2026 batch from enrolling with any State Bar Council.
The Council issued a statement after midnight on Friday (August 14, 2026) and condemned the actions on statutory, constitutional, first-principles and broader social grounds. Constructing a legal argument, it questioned the BCIs reliance on various sections of the Advocates Act, and argued that the cited provisions do not authorise restrictions on the enrolment of an entire graduating batch.
It also argued that the BCI citing the 2002-Supreme Court ruling in the Ex-Capt. Harish Uppal v. Union of India, that lawyers have no right to strike or call for a boycott of courts, was fundamentally misplaced. The Section 49 of the Advocates Act is “merely a rule-making provision and cannot serve as an independent source of substantive power; it cannot create new disabilities, restrictions, or conditions for enrolment beyond those enacted by Parliament.”
The SBC also raised privacy concerns over the proposed identification of students, faculty, alumni, research scholars and external participants. Further, invoking Article 19(1)(a) and Supreme Court observations recognising dissent and peaceful protest, the Council rejected the notion that constitutional fidelity require silence, and affirmed that universities must protect independent thought and criticism of authority.
Noting Mr. Mishra’s political position and situating the incident within wider concerns over repression and unfreedom, the SBC demanded his apology for the language used against members of the NALSAR community.
Invoking Independence Day and the Constitution’s promise of liberty and democratic dissent, the statement concluded thanking NALSAR’s administration, alumni and wider legal and social fraternity.
Published – August 15, 2026 11:35 am IST
