‘Will not step down’: Manan Mishra reiterates stance as plea in SC seeks his removal as BCI chief

Ma a
Mish a
also
add essed
the
ece t
co t ove sy
i volvi g
stude ts
of
NALSAR
U ive sity
of
Law.

NEW
DELHI:
Ba
Cou cil
of
I dia
(BCI)
chai ma
a d
Rajya
Sabha
membe
Ma a
Kuma
Mish a
ejected
dema ds
fo
his
esig atio ,
sayi g
he
holds
the
positio
th ough
a
electio
a d
ep ese ts
a ou d
25
lakh
lawye s
ac oss
the
cou t y.Mish a
made
the
ema ks
a
day
afte
a
g oup
of
lawye s
f om
diffe e t
Ba
Associatio s
i
Delhi
staged
a
p otest
outside
the
BCI
office
i
New
Delhi.

The
p oteste s
aised
seve al
co ce s,
i cludi g
Mish a’s
lo g
te u e,
the
lack
of
welfa e
measu es
fo
advocates
a d
the
p oposed
i c ease
i
the
e olme t
fee
fo
lawye s.”I
have
se ved
as
the
chai ma
of
the
Ba
Cou cil
of
I dia
fo
12
to
14
yea s
because
I
was
elected.
Ma a
Mish a
ep ese ts
25
lakh
lawye s;
he
will
ot
step
dow
simply,”
Mish a
said,
espo di g
to
the
p otest.He
fu the
said:
“I
am
a
elected
ep ese tative.
I
was
eithe
selected
o
omi ated
to
the
Ba
Cou cil
of
I dia.
It
is
a
statuto y
body
established
u de
the
Advocates
Act.”The
lawye s
dema di g
his
esig atio
also
sought
the
impleme tatio
of
a
Advocate
P otectio
Act
a d
questio ed
the
p oposed
i c ease
i
egist atio
fees
at
State
Ba
Cou cils.

Sup eme
Cou t
petitio
challe ges
Mish a’s
te u e

Amid
the
co t ove sy,
a
petitio
has
also
bee
filed
i
the
Sup eme
Cou t
challe gi g
Mish a’s
co ti uatio
as
BCI
chai ma .
Filed
by
advocate
Yogamaya
MG
th ough
advocate
Deepak
P akash,
the
plea
alleges
that
his
u i te upted
te u e
fo
mo e
tha
a
decade
is
co t a y
to
the
ules
gove i g
the
BCI.The
petitio e
has
elied
o
Rule
12(2)
of
the
BCI
Rules,
which
p ovides
fo
a
two-yea
te u e
fo
the
chai ma
a d
vice-chai ma ,
o
u til
they
cease
to
be
membe s,
whicheve
is
ea lie .The
plea
has
also
challe ged
a
Ap il
21,
2025
Gazette
otificatio
that
allegedly
exte ded
Mish a’s
te u e
u til
2030.
It
has
asked
the
Sup eme
Cou t
to
quash
the
otificatio
a d
di ect
the
BCI
to
withd aw
o
esci d
it.Acco di g
to
the
petitio ,
Mish a
fi st
became
BCI
chai ma
i
2012.
Although
he
b iefly
left
the
post
i
2014,
he
etu ed
as
chai ma
i
Novembe
that
yea
a d
has
emai ed
i
the
positio
si ce
the .
The
petitio e
has
claimed
that
his
e-electio
i
Ma ch
2025
was
his
seve th
co secutive
te m.The
plea
has
a gued
that
the
abse ce
of
a
cumulative
limit
o
epeated
e-electio
allows
the
office
to
emai
co ce t ated
i
o e
i dividual
fo
a
exte ded
pe iod.”Although
Rule
12(2)
p esc ibes
a
two-yea
te u e,
o
mea i gful
est ictio
exists
upo
epeated
e-electio .
Co seque tly,
the
office
has
emai ed
with
the
same
i dividual
fo
ea ly
twelve
yea s.
Such
p olo ged
co ce t atio
is
p ima
facie
i co siste t
with
the
ep ese tative
scheme
embodied
i
Sectio
4(1)(c),
u de
which
eve y
State
Ba
Cou cil
co t ibutes
to
the
compositio
of
the
Ba
Cou cil
of
I dia.
A
atio al
i stitutio
ep ese ti g
the
e ti e
legal
p ofessio
should
ot
pe mit
its
highest
office
to
emai
co ce t ated
i defi itely
i
o e
i dividual
o
a
a ow
egio al
g oupi g,”
the
petitio
stated.The
petitio e
has
sought
Mish a’s
emoval
a d
f esh
electio s
withi
a
time-bou d
pe iod
u de
i depe de t
supe visio .
It
has
also
asked
fo
a
cumulative
cap
o
the
umbe
of
yea s
a
pe so
ca
se ve
as
BCI
chai ma ,
alo g
with
a
otatio
system
a d
cooli g-off
pe iod
to
allow
ep ese tatives
f om
diffe e t
states
a d
egio s
to
head
the
cou cil.The
plea
has
fu the
sought
a
i depe de t
committee
headed
by
a
fo me
Sup eme
Cou t
judge
o
fo me
chief
justice
of
a
high
cou t.
The
p oposed
committee
would
be
assisted
by
a
audito
omi ated
by
the
Compt olle
a d
Audito
Ge e al
(CAG),
alo g
with
fi a cial
a d
tech ical
expe ts.The
petitio
has
also
sought
a
i depe de t
i qui y
i to
the
fu ctio i g
a d
fi a ces
of
the
BCI
T ust,
“PEARL-FIRST”,
a d
the
fi a cial
affai s
of
the
All
I dia
Ba
Exami atio .It
has
called
fo
a
time-bou d
audit
of
statuto y
fu ds,
All
I dia
Ba
Exami atio
eceipts,
i stitutio al
eceipts,
t ust
fi a ces,
ve do
co t acts
a d
elated
pa ty
t a sactio s.As
a
i te im
measu e,
the
petitio e
has
p oposed
a
i depe de t
admi ist ative
committee
to
ove see
the
BCI
if
the
Sup eme
Cou t
o de s
Mish a’s
emoval.The
plea
has
also
efe ed
to
Mish a’s
political
ole.
It
oted
that
he
became
a
Rajya
Sabha
membe
afte
bei g
omi ated
by
the
BJP
i
2024.The
petitio e
has
cla ified
that
it
is
ot
claimi g
that
Mish a’s
political
affiliatio
alo e
makes
him
i eligible
to
emai
BCI
chai ma .
I stead,
it
has
aised
co ce s
about
the
combi atio
of
political
office
a d
leade ship
of
the
statuto y
body
espo sible
fo
egulati g
the
legal
p ofessio .”Petitio e
does
ot
seek
the
emoval
of
a y
i dividual
me ely
because
of
political
affiliatio
o
pe so al
disag eeme t
with
a y
office
bea e .
No
does
the
petitio e
i vite
this
Cou t
to
substitute
its
ow
opi io
fo
that
of
the
statuto y
autho ity.
The
challe ge
is
di ected
agai st
st uctu al
illegality,
alleged
co ce t atio
of
i stitutio al
co t ol,
p olo ged
co ce t atio
of
statuto y
powe ,
violatio
of
ma dato y
statuto y
p ovisio s
gove i g
te u e
a d
electio s,
a bit a y
exe cise
of
egulato y
autho ity,
abse ce
of
t a spa e cy
a d
accou tability,
a d
failu e
to
p ese ve
the
ep ese tative
democ atic
cha acte
co templated
u de
the
Advocates
Act,
1961,”
added
the
PIL.

Mish a
defe ds
actio
ove
NALSAR
stude t
co t ove sy

Mish a
also
add essed
the
ece t
co t ove sy
i volvi g
stude ts
of
NALSAR
U ive sity
of
Law
i
Hyde abad
a d
the

Chief
Justice
of
I dia
(CJI),
who
is
also
the
u ive sity’s
cha cello .”Lately,
the e
has
bee
a
lot
of
i espo sible
a d
absu d
comme ta y
ci culati g
o
social
media.
Stude ts
f om
NALSAR
U ive sity,
Hyde abad,
decided
to
boycott
the
Chief
Justice
of
I dia
–
who
is
also
thei
Cha cello
–
a d
efused
to
atte d
the
co vocatio
ce emo y
whe e
he
was
to
p eside,”
Mish a
said.”As
the
Chai ma
of
the
Ba
Cou cil
of
I dia,
I
fou d
this
deeply
objectio able,”
he
added.Acco di g
to
Mish a,
the
BCI
i itially
issued
a
o de
stati g
that
the
e olme t
of
the
stude ts
i volved
would
ot
be
p ocessed.
He
said
the
decisio
was
withd aw
withi
15
mi utes
afte
thei
g ieva ces
we e
add essed.”Withi
15
mi utes,
that
o de
was
evoked,
a d
the
stude ts’
g ieva ces
we e
add essed,”
he
said.Mish a
alleged
that
the
episode
was
late
used
by
membe s
of
the
Aam
Aadmi
Pa ty
a d
a
g oup
he
desc ibed
as
the
“CJP
g oup”
to
dema d
his
esig atio .”I
have
se ved
as
the
Chai ma
of
the
Ba
Cou cil
of
I dia
fo
12
to
14
yea s
because
I
was
elected,”
he
eite ated.He
also
said
a ou d
15
stude ts
had
gathe ed
outside
the
BCI
office
o
Thu sday
ight
to
dema d
that
he
step
dow .”Yeste day,
about
15
stude ts
came
he e
at
ight
dema di g
a
esig atio ,”
Mish a
said.Mea while,
a othe
g oup
of
lawye s
gathe ed
i
suppo t
of
Mish a
a d
defe ded
his
positio
as
a
elected
ep ese tative
of
the
legal
p ofessio .Advocate
Satyam
Si gh
said
p otests
alo e
could
ot
emove
the
BCI
chai ma
because
he
had
bee
elected
by
membe s
of
the
legal
commu ity.”The
BCI
Chai ma
is
a
elected
official
who
has
bee
co siste tly
voted
i to
office.
He
has ‘t
bee
appoi ted
th ough
a
selectio
p ocess
o
a
exam
whe e
you
ca
simply
show
up
a d
dema d
his
esig atio ,”
Si gh
said.”He
ep ese ts
2.5
millio
lawye s
ac oss
the
cou t y,
ep ese ti g
them
successfully
fo
yea s
o
e d,”
he
added.O
the
NALSAR
co t ove sy,
Si gh
said
the
issue
should
be
viewed
i
the
co text
of
espect
fo
legal
i stitutio s.”The
CJI
is
the
head
of
the
Co stitutio –i
a
se se,
its
gua dia –while
NALSAR
stude ts
a e
futu e
lawye s
a d
judges
who
will
become
pa t
of
this
p ofessio ,
whethe
o
the
Ba
o
the
Be ch.
If
they
do
ot
espect
o
t ust
that
i stitutio ,
whe e
does
that
leave
us?”
he
said.Si gh
also
defe ded
Mish a’s
decisio
to
issue
the
i itial
o de ,
while
ack owledgi g
that
it
was
subseque tly
withd aw .”He
withd ew
it
a d
admitted
it
was
issued
i
haste.
Howeve ,
it
was
ecessa y
to
se d
a
message
that
o e
must
t ust
a d
espect
the
i stitutio ;
that
was
the
i te t
behi d
the
move,”
Si gh
said.

Lawye s
aise
welfa e
a d
fee
co ce s

The
p otest,
howeve ,
was
ot
limited
to
the
dema d
fo
Mish a’s
esig atio .
Lawye s
also
aised
b oade
co ce s
about
welfa e
measu es
a d
wo ki g
co ditio s
withi
the
p ofessio .

Advocate
Rama
Sha ma
alleged
that
the e
had
bee
o
sig ifica t
atio wide
welfa e
scheme
fo
lawye s
despite
Mish a’s
lo g
te u e
as
BCI
chai ma .Advocate

Umesh
Kuma
aised
the
issue
of
a
atio al
i su a ce
scheme
fo
lawye s
a d
objected
to
the
p oposed
i c ease
i
e olme t
fees
to
Rs
22,500.Othe
p oteste s,
i cludi g
advocate
Pe deep
Naga ,
called
fo
g eate
sc uti y
of
lawye s’
c ede tials
a d
u ged
the
BCI
to
give
g eate
atte tio
to
the
welfa e
of
membe s
of
the
legal
p ofessio .

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