NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Thursday ruled that Bar Council of India has no jurisdiction to discipline or regulate law students and quashed its letters threatening to debar Nalsar University law graduates from registering as advocates for opposing an invitation to CJI Surya Kant as chief guest at the institute’s annual convocation.Despite BCI chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra pleading for closure of the issue saying that the objectionable letters to the Hyderabad institute on Aug 13 were withdrawn within hours, a bench of CJI Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said the ambit of BCI’s powers, as the statutory regulatory body for the legal profession, is required to be delineated.“From an in-depth consideration of the issue, we are of the opinion that Advocates Act, 1961, whereunder BCI is statutorily created, does not confer any express or implied power on BCI or state bar councils to take any disciplinary or punitive action against law students. BCI has disciplinary jurisdiction over law graduates only after they have registered as advocates,” SC said.The bench agreed with senior advocate K Parameshwar who, for former Nalsar law graduate petitioners, argued that BCI does not have jurisdiction over law students, and its Aug 13 letters amounted to making deep inroads into freedom of speech and expression of students.Only parent institution can take disciplinary action, says SCSo far as law students are concerned, it is the parent institution or the authority prescribed under laws and bylaws governing the institution who alone have the competence to take disciplinary action, if so required, against the students,” said the bench.Parameshwar said while the letter threatened to bar the registration of the Nalsar 2026 batch of law graduates as advocates, a second letter, while withdrawing the threat, directed the university to identify the students who had given the call to oppose the invitation to CJI as chief guest at the convocation. The advocate added that both letters were without jurisdiction.On Aug 14, SC stayed the operation of both letters, terming them “absolutely uncalled for”, and shielded the students and faculty ag-ainst any action by the university pursuant to BCI’s letters.BCI chief Mishra said that both letters were withdrawn subsequently.The CJI-led bench said, “Having held so, we declare all the communications of Aug 13 or subsequent modified communications to be wi-thout any authority of law.”This indictment and clipping of wings of BCI come a day after the same bench entertained petitions alleging serious irregularities in its functioning and its composition without proper elections.
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On Aug 14, the bench had also said BCI had nothing to do with the students’ protest against the invitation to CJI. “The students might have written a letter to me. It is a dialogue between me and students. Who are they (BCI) to unnecessarily create an issue? This action is totally uncalled for,” CJI had said.Trashing BCI’s threat, CJI had told Parameshwar to convey to the students “to get licences to practice at the earliest and begin their careers in Supreme Court. We will empanel them and give them legal aid cases. This will be our response to all those who intend to create impediments in their professional career.”