President, Supreme Court Bar Association condemns BCI's arbitrary decision to withhold enrolment of NALSAR University Law Graduates, BCI modifies its order, CJP demands complete withdrawal of BCI's order

In a letter dated August 13, 2026 addressed to Chairman, Bar Council of India (BCI), President, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has expressed its strongest condemnation regarding the decision taken by the BCI directing that, "Till further orders, no student of NALSAR University of Law, who has obtained the Law Degree in the year 2026, shall be enrolled by any State Bar Council as an Advocate." Subsequent to SCBA's letter, BCI modified its order dated August 13, 2026. All the three letters were issued on August 13, 2026. 

Meanwhile, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) issued a detailed statement. CJP was behind the resignation of education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan in wake of national examination leak scam. It BCI's interim directive against NALSAR University of Law graduates "grossly disproportionate, deeply troubling, and prima facie indefensible". It urged law students, senior advocates, and young professionals to unite under the slogan "What if all legal cockroaches come together? " After CJP's threat to protest against him, BCI chairman communicated to CJP that he has modified the order  But CJP is demanding complete withdrawal of BCI's order. 

SCBA's letter reads: "This unprecedented and wholly arbitrary direction is, in my view, illegal, disproportionate and fundamentally unsustainable. It amounts to an attempt to intimidate law students for exercising their fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. Universities are meant to be campuses of free thought and fearless debate. Students cannot be threatened with denial of their right to enter the legal profession merely because they have expressed disagreement with a constitutional authority. Such an approach is fundamentally antithetical to the very values that a law university is expected to nurture....The directive also seriously affects the graduates' fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g) to practise a profession of their choice. A blanket and indefinite restriction of this nature cannot meet the requirements of legality, reasonableness or proportionality. The BCI, as the apex regulatory body of the legal profession, has a greater responsibility to uphold the rule of law and constitutional values. It cannot itself resort to collective punishment or use the professional future of young graduates as a means of institutional discipline. As members of the legal fraternity, it is our collective duty to nurture, support, and welcome the next generation of lawyers, rather than creating arbitrary institutional barriers that stall their careers before they even begin."

The letter of SCBA's President concluded:"I therefore urge the Bar Council of India to immediately withdraw this wholly unjustified directive and permit the 2026 NALSAR graduates to seek enrolment without any hindrance and in accordance with law."

Notably, BCI has proposed to empower itself to conduct nationwide entrance examinations for law degree admissions under the Draft Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2026. This draft bill also suggests raising the advocate's enrolment fee from ₹750 to ₹22,500, a massive 30%  increase. The Draft Bill gives the BCI authority to conduct entrance tests and define minimum eligibility qualifications for entry into law degree courses. The proposed Bill does not have provision for it's audit by Comptroller Auditor General. It's provision to legitimize it's election tribunal structure to deal with disputes concerning elections under the Advocates Act, 1961 is highly questionable because the election tribunal is structurally, a subordinate body under the chairman of BCI. BCI does not trust Election Commission of India like independent body to deal with election petitions under the law.