Any policy decision by BCI to be taken in consultation with AG, Solicitor General, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 2, 2026) directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) under its “pro-tem” chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra to consult the country’s top law officers, the Attorney General and the Solicitor General, before taking any policy decisions ahead of elections to the apex lawyers’ body.

The hearing before a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant saw petitioners, including young lawyers, raise allegations, including the formation of the BCI Pearl First Trust in 2020 in which Mr. Mishra and other BCI office-bearers are “permanent managing trustees”; a tie-up between the Trust and the Goa government to set up a university on 56 acres of land in the State; “jolting” expenditures on felicitations “running into crores”; and an extension of the tenure of BCI chairperson/vice-chairperson to five years.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the court did not want to encourage “shadow-boxing” around these allegations, but would certainly intervene to “maintain the institutional integrity and credibility” of the BCI till the next bar body elections.