Bombay Bar Association Demands BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra's Resignation Over NALSAR Row
EduLaw EditorialLegal UpdatesIn an unprecedented move, the Bombay Bar Association has condemned BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra's actions against NALSAR students and declared his August 15 apology a hollow attempt to "merely assuage the situation," demanding he step down immediately. The Bombay Bar Association has delivered what may be the strongest institutional rebuke yet against Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra. In a letter dated August 18, 2026, the Association condemned Mishra's actions during the NALSAR University convocation controversy, branded his subsequent apology as belated and performative, and demanded that he resign from the chairmanship of the Bar Council of India forthwith. The development follows a dramatic sequence of events that unfolded between August 13 and August 15, 2026, igniting one of the most intense debates the Indian legal fraternity has witnessed in recent years — a debate not merely about one man or one directive, but about accountability, institutional overreach, and the responsibilities that accompany leadership of the country's apex bar regulatory body. The Trigger: BCI's Directive Against NALSAR Students The crisis was set in motion on August 13, 2026, when Manan Kumar Mishra, in his capacity as BCI Chairman, issued a directive instructing all State Bar Councils not to enroll any student from the 2026 graduating batch of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, as advocates. The directive also called for an inquiry into the students. The provocation, reportedly, was that a section of outgoing NALSAR students had opposed inviting Chief Justice of India Surya Kant as the chief guest at their convocation ceremony, citing his earlier remarks regarding petitions related to the NEET student protests. The directive was issued without granting the affected students any opportunity of hearing. It was widely seen as a punitive measure aimed at silencing student dissent — a move that threatened the professional futures of an entire graduating class for exercising what many argued was a legitimate right to protest. Swift Backlash and Withdrawal The backlash was immediate and fierce. Senior Advocates, legal commentators, and bar associations across the country condemned the directive as an abuse of power. Within hours, the BCI published a second communication late on August 14, stating that "after detailed deliberation, the BCI has modified its earlier directions," effectively withdrawing the bar on enrollment. The Supreme Court also weighed in on August 14, with CJI Surya Kant himself stating that students "have the right to protest" and calling the BCI's intervention "totally uncalled for." On August 15 — Independence Day — Mishra issued a letter in the nature of an apology, stating that law students "must always remain free to express their views." Bombay Bar Association: Apology Without Resignation Is Not Remorse The Bombay Bar Association's Standing Committee convened on August 17 and 18 to deliberate upon these events. The resulting letter pulls no punches. The Standing Committee described the August 13 directive as an "abuse" of the office of the BCI Chairman, issued in excess of the BCI's jurisdiction and in violation of natural justice principles, since no hearing was afforded to the students before an order with such grave professional consequences was passed. On the apology itself, the Association was unequivocal. It stated that Mishra's apology of August 15 "was clearly belated and was just an attempt to merely assuage the situation." The letter further noted that his apology "cannot be regarded as an expression of true remorse, since he continues to hold the position as Chairman despite his conduct, when, in the fitness of things, he ought to have already resigned." The Association expressed its "deepest anguish" that Mishra "has, while occupying the post as Chairman of the Bar Council of India, indulged in issuing orders and directions against the law students of NALSAR (Passing out batch of 2026), which do not fall within the purview of the Bar Council of India." However, the Bombay Bar Association also acknowledged the subsequent BCI decision to close all proceedings against the students, calling it "a step in the right direction and a step which restores the faith in the institution of the Bar Council of India, in whom we continue to repose our faith." A Broader Chorus of Dissent The Bombay Bar Association is not alone in demanding Mishra's ouster. Three lawyers' collectives — the All India Lawyers Association for Justice, the National Alliance for Justice Accountability and Rights, and the Queer Lawyers Association — representing over 700 members across the country, have also jointly demanded his resignation. Their statement declared that the legal fraternity is "deeply ashamed that the statutory institution that governs us is led by Mr Manan Kumar Mishra — a man so prone to arbitrariness that he frequently fails in upholding the interests and integrity of the Bar, in his pursuit of