Bar councils not commanding respect of their members not good sign for legal profession: Justice Nagarathna
Supreme Court Judge BV Nagarathna was speaking at the 13th convocation of National Law University, Delhi
Amid calls for resignation of Bar Council of India Chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, Supreme Court Judge BV Nagarathna on Saturday said Bar councils not commanding respect of their members was not a good sign for the legal profession.
Speaking at the 13th convocation of the National Law University, Delhi, she said Bar councils must introspect on their role in upholding professional ethics, morality and competence. It’s time for members of the Bar to introspect on their duties in seeking justice for the distressed litigant and for sustaining democracy in the country, she added.
“The Bar councils—whether the Central or states’—must introspect on their role and importance in upholding professional ethics, morality and professional competence. When a Bar Council does not earn the respect of its members, it is not a good sign for the legal profession,” Justice Nagarathna said.
Noting that the legal system was bogged down by pendency, delays and rising costs, she asked the bar to change its mindset, rethink its role and speak in a singular voice to sustain the justice dispensation system.
“As the legal system in India is bogged down by pendency, delays, rising costs and uncertainty, the Bar in India must rise and speak in a singular voice as to how it could sustain the system of justice dispensation in India,” she said.
Justice Nagarathna’s comments came at a time when BCI Chairman Mishra – who has continuously held the office for more than a decade – faced repeated demands for resignation in the wake of BCI’s direction to state Bar councils not to enrol the graduating 2026 batch of NALSAR, Hyderabad students as advocates after they objected to the proposed invitation to CJI Surya Kant for their convocation. A petition in the Supreme Court has challenged his prolonged tenure and sought his removal from the post of the Chairperson of the BCI which regulates the legal profession and legal education in India.
Describing lawyers as torchbearers of the values of the Constitution and the “safety valves” of democracy, she said, “Any lapse or errors of the bar will have a deep impact on our political and civic life.”
“I humbly remind every member of the Bar to change their mindset and endure to work for their clients as a public service, lest they lose their relevance in the future to come. That would be disastrous for our system of dispensation of justice and for preserving the rule of law in our country,” she said.
Justice Nagarathna cautioned the budding lawyers against relying on fake judgments generated through artificial intelligence, saying, “Don’t fall prey to hallucination.”
Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya conferred degrees on students passing out from the NLU. Several judges and NLU Delhi Vice-Chancellor Prof G S Bajpai were present at the convocation ceremony.
