The Supreme Court on Wednesday put the functioning of the Bar Council of India (BCI) under a tighter oversight mechanism, directing that the Attorney General (AG) for India and Solicitor General (SG) must be “actively associated” with every policy decision taken by the apex lawyers’ body until it is reconstituted through fresh elections.
A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, made it clear that BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra’s continuance in office cannot be treated as an arrangement extending up to 2030, observing that, prima facie, his position is only a “pro tem” continuation until a freshly constituted BCI elects its office-bearers.
The court’s intervention came during a hearing on petitions concerning elections to state bar councils, in which a fresh challenge was mounted against Mishra’s continuance as BCI chairman and the validity of notifications purporting to extend the tenure of the chairman and vice-chairman up to 2030.
Why SC direction is significant
The bench’s directions assume significance coming days after it had criticised the BCI’s intervention in the controversy over the NALSAR University of Law’s 2026 graduating batch. BCI chairman Mishra had initially directed state bar councils not to enrol the students owing to their protest over inviting the CJI for the convocation, before withdrawing the freeze and eventually closing proceedings against the batch. Mishra subsequently apologised to the students for any hurt caused by his words or the Council’s actions.
