‘Not a matter of ego’: BCI chairman apologises to law students after row over NALSAR diktat

NEW
DELHI:
Ba
Cou cil
of
I dia
chai ma
Ma a
Kuma
Mish a
o
Satu day
apologised
to
law
stude ts
followi g
the
cou cil’s
co t ove sial
decisio
to
b iefly
halt
the
e olme t
of
Natio al
Academy
of
Legal
Studies
a d
Resea ch
(NALSAR)
U ive sity
of
Law’s
2026
g aduati g
batch
as
advocates,
Ba
a d
Be ch
epo ted.I
a
lette
issued
o
I depe de ce
Day,
Mish a
said
he
eg etted
a y
wo ds
o
commu icatio
co ected
to
the
co t ove sy
that
may
have
hu t
the
feeli gs
of
law
stude ts.”If
a ythi g
co ected
with
the
p ese t
co t ove sy,
a y
of
my
wo ds,
o
lette ,
has
hu t
the
feeli gs
of
ou
law
stude ts,
I
si ce ely
eg et
a d
apologise
fo
the
same.
The e
should
be
o
hesitatio
i
sayi g
so,”
the
lette
eads.”A
exp essio
of
eg et
is
ot
a
matte
of
p estige
o
ego.
It
is
simply
a
ack owledgme t
that
the
feeli gs
a d
co ce s
of
ou
stude ts
matte ,”
he
added.The
apology
comes
afte
the
BCI
di ected
all
state
ba
cou cils
ot
to
e ol
NALSAR’s
2026
g aduates
as
advocates
u til
fu the
o de s.
The
cou cil
withd ew
the
di ective
withi
hou s
followi g
a
up oa
o
social
media.The
BCI
had
i itially
said
it
was
exami i g
allegatio s
ega di g
a
campaig
agai st
Chief
Justice
of
I dia
Su ya
Ka t’s
pa ticipatio
i
NALSAR’s
co vocatio
a d
had
sought
a
epo t
ide tifyi g
those
espo sible.

The
cou cil
late
modified
its
decisio
to
allow
the
e olme t
of
the
u ive sity’s
2026
g aduates
befo e
withd awi g
the
otificatio
altogethe .
The
evised
otificatio
said
the
“vast
majo ity”
of
stude ts
we e
i oce t
a d
should
ot
be
made
to
suffe
fo
the
alleged
“misco duct”
of
a
few.The
co t ove sy
bega
afte
a ou d
450
g aduati g
NALSAR
stude ts
u ged
the
u ive sity
to
eco side
i viti g
CJI
Ka t
as
chief
guest
at
its
co vocatio .
The
stude ts
cited
his
alleged
efusal
to
hea
pleas
co ce i g
“police
b utality”
agai st
stude ts
who
had
ma ched
to
Pa liame t
o
July
20
seeki g
the
esig atio
of
the -U io
educatio
mi iste
Dha me d a
P adha
ove
the
NEET-UG
questio
pape
leak
i
May.

The
Sup eme
Cou t
late
exp essed
“st o g
disapp oval”
of
the
BCI’s
ow- evoked
o de .A
be ch
headed
by
CJI
Ka t,
a d
comp isi g
Justices
Joymalya
Bagchi
a d
V
Moha a,
said
stude ts
have
the
ight
to
p otest
peacefully
a d
desc ibed
the
episode
as
a
“dialogue”
betwee
him
a d
the
stude ts.”If
stude ts
a e
p otesti g
peacefully,
who
is
BCI
to
take
actio ?
It
is
the
ight
of
the
stude ts
to
p otest
peacefully.
It
is
a
dialogue
betwee
stude ts
a d
me.
No
o e
else
has
to
step
i ,”
the
CJI
said.The
Sup eme
Cou t
also
stayed
a y
coe cive
actio
agai st
stude ts
o
faculty
by
the
BCI
o
state
cou cils.”It
(the
lette )
was
absolutely
u called
fo ,”
the
be ch
added.