New Delhi, 03 September (H.S.):

The Supreme Court has held that the Bar Council of India (BCI) cannot penalise law students for conduct within their colleges or universities. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said that the BCI has no jurisdiction to initiate disciplinary action against students pursuing legal education.

The Supreme Court said that matters concerning the conduct and discipline of law students fall within the jurisdiction of their respective universities or educational institutions. The Court observed that the letters issued by the BCI seeking action against students of NALSAR who had opposed the participation of the Chief Justice in their convocation were beyond the Council’s jurisdiction.

The petition was filed by NALSAR alumni Mihir Sood and Abhishek Tiwari. It challenged a circular issued on August 13 by BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, which directed that NALSAR students be barred from registering as advocates with any Bar Council.

However, following opposition to the circular, Manan Kumar Mishra subsequently withdrew it.

The matter arose after students of NALSAR refused to receive their degrees at the convocation ceremony from Chief Justice Surya Kant. Following the students’ decision, BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra had issued the controversial circular.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar