Justice Nagarathna calls for Bar introspection amid NALSAR controversy

Bar Councils must introspect on their role and work towards earning the respect of their members, Supreme Court judge Justice BV Nagarathna said on Saturday, in remarks that come in the wake of the recent controversy involving the Bar Council of India (BCI) and NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.Justice BV Nagarathna urged Bar Councils to uphold professional ethics and competence, as the legal fraternity faces scrutiny over the BCI-NALSAR row.“The Bar Councils, whether the Central or the States, must introspect on their role and importance in upholding professional ethics, morality and professional competence,” Justice Nagarathna said while delivering the convocation address at the 13th convocation of National Law University, Delhi.“When a Bar Council does not earn the respect of its members, it is not a good sign for the legal profession,” she said.Her remarks assume significance against the backdrop of the BCI’s recent action against the 2026 graduating batch of NALSAR, which triggered a confrontation with the students and drew sharp scrutiny from the Supreme Court.The BCI had on August 13 directed state Bar Councils not to enrol NALSAR’s 2026 graduates as advocates amid a controversy over a student campaign opposing the invitation to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant as chief guest at the university’s convocation. The BCI subsequently withdrew the enrolment freeze and closed the proceedings against the batch. BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra later apologised to the students.Subsequently, a Supreme Court bench, led by CJI Kant, while hearing the matter, questioned the BCI’s intervention in the controversy and emphasised the students’ right to peacefully express dissent. The episode also led to criticism of the BCI from sections of the legal fraternity, including demands for Mishra’s resignation.Without referring to the NALSAR episode, Justice Nagarathna placed the question of the Bar Council’s credibility in the larger context of the responsibilities of the legal profession.She said the Bar needed to “re-think” its usefulness to litigants, its role in safeguarding democracy and in upholding the majesty of courts and the rule of law.“The Bar in India must re-think about its usefulness to the litigant public, its role in safeguarding our democracy and in upholding the majesty of courts of law and its indispensability in upholding justice and rule of law,” she said.Justice Nagarathna said the legal system was currently “bogged down” by pendency, delays, rising costs and uncertainty and called upon the Bar to speak in a “singular voice” on how the justice delivery system could be sustained.She linked the present responsibility of lawyers to the historical role played by the legal profession in India’s freedom struggle and constitution-making, saying the time had come for individual members of the Bar as well as the profession collectively to introspect on their duties towards distressed litigants and democracy.“The lawyers of this country are the torch bearers of the values of our Constitution,” she said, warning that any lapse or error by the Bar could have a “deep impact” on India’s political and civic life.Justice Nagarathna also stressed that the legal profession was not merely an occupation or trade but an “office of trust”. A lawyer’s duty, she said, was not exhausted by the terms of an engagement or the instructions of a client because lawyers function within institutions that belong to the public at large.She urged lawyers to preserve the independence of the Bar, saying such independence existed not for the benefit of lawyers themselves but because a constitutional democracy required professionals who could advise, argue, challenge and represent without having to seek permission from the State, the market or even their clients.“Lawyers are safety valves of democracies,” she said, asking the graduating students to “guard” the profession’s independence and “earn its trust”.Justice Nagarathna also cautioned the new generation of lawyers against allowing the pursuit of a successful career to undermine their public responsibilities, urging them to treat work for clients as a form of public service.“Use your knowledge and judgment in the service of the rule of law,” she told the graduates, who she reminded were leaving NLU Delhi as “Officers of the Court and Stewards of the Constitution”.