- SC: BCI lacks power to discipline law students.
- Educational institutions hold authority over student conduct.
- Ruling stems from NALSAR row over student protests.
NALSAR Row: The Supreme Court on Thursday clarified that the Bar Council of India (BCI) has no constitutional right to discipline students pursuing law. The apex court asserted that the lawyers' regulatory body cannot direct law universities to deal with the students in a certain manner. While BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra stated that the matter has already been closed, the top court pointed out the legal boundaries of the bar council.
BCI Has No Jurisdiction: SC
The court stated that the right to discipline students falls within the domain of the educational institution, adding that there must not be any doubt regarding that. "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," the court stated.
In his defense, Mishra stated that the matter was closed after the regulatory body took back its communication. "The Council, in its meeting, has said that there is nothing further and that everything has been resolved," Mishra said. However, the court mentioned that while the regulatory body can suggest changes in curriculum, it cannot pass any directive regarding the law students.
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Row Over NALSAR Issue
The top court's ruling came while hearing the petition filed by Mihira Sood, who challenged a BCI's directive to the law universities asking them to not enroll the graduation students of NALSAR Hyderabad until the further order. The regulatory body issued the directive after the law students protested against the invitation to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant as Chief Guest at their convocation program.
A massive controversy escalated after the directive came to the light, further being criticized by the chief justice himself. Manan Mishra withdrew the order and apologized to the protesting students; however, several groups, including the lawyers, demanded his resignation.
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