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After the Bar Council of India withdrew its decision regarding judicial internships for NALSAR students, Senior Advocate and Delhi High Court Bar Association Vice-President Sachin Puri on Friday criticised the Bar Council of India (BCI), saying that its decision was fundamentally wrong, harsh, and executed in unconsidered haste, expressing relief that it was ultimately rolled back.
"BCI's decision was wrong and also harsh. I'm very happy to see that it was rolled back. Taking such a decision in haste is not correct," he said. Senior Advocate Vikas Singh termed the order as "completely illegal" and devoid of any statutory backing. Speaking to ANI, Singh asserted that the Chairman acted as if running the BCI as his "personal property," pointing out that a complete midnight rollback via tweet was done out of fear of facing another severe judicial rebuff. As a regulator, he should have first examined whether he could pass such an order. There is no such provision in the Bar Council of India that gives the Chairman any power to pass a sweeping order that a particular batch will not be enrolled. So the order was completely illegal. When he withdrew that order, he did not do a full withdrawal. Then he realised that he may face another setback or rude rebuff. So he tweeted at midnight that he's withdrawing the order completely. This means that he's running the BCI as his personal property. He feels that he's above the law," he said. Further, he also underlined that the students were wrong in their approach, as the Chief Justice of India is one of the most respected individuals, and to decline to accept the degree from him is not "proper." "It needs to be debated whether a person like this can continue. What the students did was also not in good taste. Because the Chief Justice of India is the head of the entire judicial family, to say that we will not take degrees from him is not proper. There are better ways for them to protest," he said. Earlier today, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Bar Council of India (BCI) seeking a response to a plea filed by NALSAR against two Circulars issued by BCI yesterday that received major backlash. A bench led by CJI Surya Kant said that if students want to protest lawfully, BCI had no business to interfere. The Court has agreed to hear the plea. "BCI has nothing to do with this. We are with you. Students have written a letter to me. It's a dialogue between students and me. Who are they to unnecessarily issue a circular? When I was in college, I was even actively involved in students' activities. Sometimes, even if they are saying the wrong thing, if they are lawfully raising a voice, it must be allowed", the CJI said. The plea was mentioned by Senior Advocate K. Parameshwar. Meanwhile, the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad said it will place before its Executive Council the Bar Council of India's (BCI) directive seeking an inquiry into students involved in the recent controversy. The university said it needs to examine whether conducting such an inquiry would be constitutional and permissible under its governance regulations. (ANI)
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