The Student Bar Council (SBC) of NALSAR Hyderabad has raised questions over the circumstances that led to the cancellation of the National Law School of India University’s (NLSIU) convocation, particularly the reported demand that graduating students publicly issue a fresh invitation to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
In a statement expressing solidarity with NLSIU’s graduating batch, the NALSAR SBC said it had been informed that the demand for a public letter did not originate from the NLSIU administration.
The Council noted that, under NLSIU’s statutory framework, the Chief Justice of India serves as the university’s ex-officio Chancellor and convenes its convocation. It also said the students had already agreed to the CJI attending the ceremony.
The dispute, according to the statement, emerged later when students were reportedly asked to issue a public letter “re-inviting” the CJI as an additional condition for the convocation to proceed.
While saying that only those directly involved could establish the complete sequence of events, the NALSAR SBC said it was clear to the Council that NLSIU’s administration had not made the demand for such a letter.
The students’ refusal to issue the public invitation ultimately resulted in the convocation being cancelled, according to the statement.
The NALSAR student body said that if the request had originated from the CJI’s office, it would be deeply unfortunate, as it would suggest that concerns surrounding public perception had been placed ahead of the interests of the graduating students.
It also praised the NLSIU Batch of 2026 for refusing the demand and standing by its earlier position.
The Council described the cancellation of a convocation as especially harsh, pointing out that the occasion marks the culmination of years of academic effort and is often shared with family and friends. Many students and their families had already made arrangements to attend the ceremony, it said.
The NALSAR SBC also linked the developments to the recent controversy involving NALSAR students and the Bar Council of India.
Earlier, NALSAR’s graduating students had objected to the proposed presence of CJI Surya Kant at their convocation. The dispute intensified after Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra issued directions seeking to halt the enrolment of the graduating batch. The decision was later withdrawn following widespread criticism.
Students and alumni from NLSIU subsequently extended support to the NALSAR students. More than 700 members of the NLSIU community signed a statement objecting to both Mishra and the CJI attending their own convocation.
CJI Surya Kant, who serves as NLSIU’s Chancellor, later met students to understand their concerns. Following the meeting, batches were asked to vote on whether they would attend the convocation with the CJI present, provided there was no protest or disruption during the event.
Students were also informed that Mishra would not attend the ceremony.
A vote held on August 23 reportedly showed majority support for that arrangement, with students choosing it over the possibility of the convocation being cancelled.
However, the situation changed two days later.
On August 25, the batches were reportedly informed that the convocation would also require them to issue a public statement inviting the CJI. With no agreement reached on that condition, the ceremony for the graduating batch was eventually called off.
The NALSAR SBC also referred to observations previously made by the CJI during the NALSAR controversy, when he had said students were entitled to protest peacefully.
According to the Council, it remains uncertain whether the cancellation of NLSIU’s convocation can be attributed solely to the university administration. However, it said the circumstances reflected a lack of sufficient care towards the interests of the students.
The statement also criticised the administration’s reference to “unavoidable circumstances” while announcing the cancellation, arguing that such an explanation did not meet the level of transparency expected from a legal institution.
The Council said it was unclear whether alternative solutions had been adequately explored before the decision was taken.
For NLSIU’s graduating students, the dispute has now gone far beyond a disagreement over an invitation. What was meant to be a final academic milestone has instead become another chapter in an increasingly tense debate over dissent, institutional authority and the place of student voices within India’s law schools.
