NALSAR’s Student Bar Council Questions Public Invitation to CJI
The Student Bar Council (SBC) at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, has raised questions regarding the involvement of National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in the demand for its graduating students to issue a public letter inviting Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant to their now-cancelled convocation. This query was part of a statement expressing solidarity with the NLSIU graduating class following the convocation’s cancellation.
The NALSAR SBC acknowledged the statutory framework of NLSIU, where the CJI acts as the ex-officio Chancellor responsible for convening the convocation. According to the SBC, NLSIU students had initially consented to the CJI’s participation in the ceremony. However, a later request for the students to issue a public letter “re-inviting” the CJI was introduced, a condition that the students did not agree to, leading to the convocation’s cancellation.
Questions About Demands and Administration’s Role
The SBC stated that the exact sequence of events remains unclear and could only be clarified by direct stakeholders. It emphasized that NLSIU’s administration had not requested such a letter. The SBC suggested that if the demand originated from the CJI’s office, it would be regrettable, indicating a preference for managing public discourse over prioritizing students’ interests.
The SBC commended the NLSIU students for their principled stance in rejecting the public letter request, standing by their previous dissent. The NALSAR SBC also noted the timing of these events, which coincided with NLSIU students and alumni supporting NALSAR during a recent controversy involving the Bar Council of India (BCI).
Context of the BCI Controversy
Earlier, over 700 NLSIU community members voiced objections to BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra and the CJI attending NLSIU’s convocation. This followed a BCI directive to halt the enrolment of NALSAR’s graduating batch after objections to CJI Surya Kant’s proposed attendance. The BCI’s decision was later retracted after backlash from the legal community.
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After discussions with NLSIU students, CJI Kant, as Chancellor, assured that Mishra would not attend the convocation. A vote on August 23 revealed majority support for the ceremony with the CJI present, without protest. However, on August 25, a new condition required students to publicly invite the CJI, which led to the convocation’s eventual cancellation due to lack of agreement.
SBC Critiques Lack of Transparency
The NALSAR SBC highlighted the CJI’s previous remarks supporting students’ rights to peaceful protest. It criticized the NLSIU administration for citing “unavoidable circumstances” as the reason for the cancellation, deeming it insufficiently transparent and falling short of the standards expected of a legal institution. The SBC noted that alternative solutions were not explored.
