The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, has cancelled its 2026 convocation amid an ongoing controversy over the proposed participation of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Manan Kumar Mishra.
The university announced on Thursday that its 34th annual convocation, which was scheduled for September 12, would not be held due to “unavoidable circumstances”.
“Despite our collective best efforts, due to unavoidable circumstances, we are unable to hold the 34th Annual Convocation,” NLSIU said in a notice issued on August 27.
The university added that all graduating students would instead be conferred their degrees in absentia, subject to approval from its governing bodies.
Students will have the option of receiving their certificates by courier or collecting them from the campus. NLSIU said it would share a form with the graduating batch to allow students to select their preferred option.
CJP reacts to NLSIU cancellation
The cancellation quickly drew a response from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
CJP co-convenor Saurav Das said he hoped the 2026 graduating batch would organise its own graduation ceremony and invite a special guest to felicitate the students.
“I hope the NLSIU graduating batch organises its own graduation ceremony and invites the most honourable guest to felicitate them. Do it the Gen-Z way!” Das said.
How the NLSIU-CJI row began
The controversy emerged after students objected to the proposed presence of CJI Surya Kant and BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra at NLSIU’s convocation.
The issue is linked to a wider dispute involving Hyderabad’s NALSAR University of Law and the BCI.
Students at NLSIU had demanded an unconditional apology from the BCI to the student and faculty community at NALSAR after the Council initially ordered that the university’s entire 2026 graduating batch be prevented from enrolling with state bar councils.
The BCI had directed state bar councils not to enrol students from the NALSAR batch pending an inquiry into a campaign opposing CJI Surya Kant’s participation in the university’s convocation.
The order was subsequently modified and withdrawn.
BCI later allows NALSAR graduates to enrol
BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra later said the Council had reviewed the matter and concluded that the vast majority of NALSAR’s 2026 graduating students were innocent and had not intended to show disrespect.
The amended order allowed all students from the batch to enrol with state bar councils of their choice.
The development, however, did not end the controversy.
NLSIU students subsequently objected to CJI Surya Kant and BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra attending their own convocation and raised questions over the proposed participation of the two officials.
What happens to NLSIU graduates now?
With the physical convocation cancelled, NLSIU’s graduating students will receive their degrees in absentia, provided the required approvals are secured from the university’s governing bodies.
The university has not announced a replacement date for an in-person ceremony.
The cancellation marks an unusual development for one of India’s premier law schools and comes amid a broader debate over student expression, institutional autonomy and the relationship between law students and regulatory bodies.
