NLSIU Students Challenge CJI Convocation Amid BCI Dispute

Students and alumni of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru have opposed the attendance of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra at their upcoming convocation, extending solidarity with students at NALSAR University of Law following a regulatory controversy. This marks an expansion of the dispute that began when the BCI issued, and quickly withdrew, a directive attempting to bar the enrollment of NALSAR's 2026 graduates.

In a statement released on August 15, over 700 members of the NLSIU community, including 165 graduating students, 409 current students, and 128 alumni, voiced their strong disapproval. They cited the recent events at NALSAR as the reason for their opposition. "We stand in unconditional solidarity with our fellow students at NALSAR who have shown exemplary courage and moral conviction in speaking truth to power," the statement read, adding that inviting senior legal officials to confer degrees is "offensive, humiliating, and a mockery of students and their struggles" when those officials have publicly expressed disdain toward student dissent.

The controversy originated in July when...