CJI Intervention Leads BCI to Withdraw Enrolment Restriction on Students

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has officially withdrawn its contentious directive that temporarily barred 2026 law graduates of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, from enrolling as advocates. BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra issued an unconditional apology to the student community after Supreme Court observations highlighted administrative high-handedness, restoring the statutory enrolment rights of qualifying law graduates across the nation.

The Bar Council of India is a statutory body established under Section 4 of the Advocates Act, 1961. It serves as the apex regulatory body for legal education and professional standards of advocates in India. While Section 7 of the Advocates Act empowers the BCI to lay down standards of legal education and recognize law universities, statutory enrolment of lawyers is primarily governed by State Bar Councils under Section 24.

The controversy erupted when BCI sought to penalize students over institutional disputes, prompting widespread concern among legal scholars and civil rights activists regarding arbitrary executive overreach. The Supreme Court emphasized that regulatory bodies must operate strictly within their statutory mandate without infringing upon students' fundamental right to practice a profession under Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution.

This incident is highly relevant for GS Paper II (Statutory Bodies, Professional Regulation, and Fundamental Rights). Exam aspirants should prepare for Prelims questions regarding the statutory structure of the Advocates Act 1961 and State Bar Councils, as well as Mains analysis on regulatory accountability and freedom of profession.