Bar Councils Have No Disciplinary Power Over Law Students; BCI Chairman's Directions Against NALSAR Bad... - Live Law

**Supreme Court Strikes Down Bar Council’s Authority Over Law Students**

New Delhi – In a landmark judgment delivered by a five‑judge Constitution Bench, the Supreme Court held that the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the respective State Bar Councils lack the statutory power to discipline or punish law students, even when they are enrolled in a university’s integrated law programme. The bench was hearing a petition filed by a group of law students and a senior advocate challenging the BCI’s attempt to invoke its disciplinary jurisdiction over students of the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) University of Law after the BCI Chairman, Shri Ganeshwar Singh, issued a notice directing the university to withdraw a student who had allegedly made “unparliamentary” remarks during a university event. The Court observed that the Advocates Act, 1968 – which governs the BCI’s functions – expressly empowers the Council to regulate the conduct of *advocates* and *persons enrolled as advocates*, but it does not extend to individuals who are merely studying law and have not yet been called to the bar.

The bench, headed by Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, underscored that law students, while pursuing professional education, enjoy the same constitutional rights as any other citizens, including freedom of speech and expression, and are not subject to the disciplinary mechanisms designed for practising lawyers. Justice R. B. Sinha stressed that any attempt by the BCI to “act as a quasi‑judicial body against students” would be “ultra vires” the Act and would infringe on the autonomy of academic institutions. Consequently, the Court quashed the BCI’s notice to NALSAR and ordered the Bar Council to refrain from issuing further directives that seek to regulate student conduct, directing it to confine its disciplinary reach strictly to practising advocates and enrolled members of the bar.

Reactions from the legal fraternity have been swift. The BCI, through a spokesperson, said it would review the judgment and consider legislative amendments to clarify its jurisdiction. NALSAR’s Vice‑Chancellor, Prof. M. V. Rao, welcomed the ruling as a vindication of academic freedom and affirmed that the university will continue to uphold a respectful environment without external interference. Several senior advocates and law‑student bodies have hailed the decision as a reinforcement of democratic principles in legal education, warning that any future attempts to curtail student rights could invite fresh constitutional challenges.