Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha member Manan Kumar Mishra has been encircled in a growing controversy after the Bar Council of India (BCI) decided to halt the enrolment of NALSAR University’s 2026 graduating batch, which has triggered a legal and political storm.
He has led the Bar Council of India (BCI) for over a decade.
After triggering sharp criticism from legal circles as well as drawing strong observations from the Supreme Court, the episode has reignited scrutiny of Mishra’s extended tenure at the head of the country’s apex body.
Amid the controversy, a petition has been filed in the Supreme Court calling for structural reforms within the BCI, including the introduction of fixed tenures and term limits for its chairman and other office-bearers.
This comes even as the BCI faced backlash for initially instructing state bar councils not to enrol NALSAR’s 2026 graduates as advocates, following a student campaign opposing the university’s proposed invitation to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant as chief guest at its convocation. The order was withdrawn within hours amid widespread criticism.
Who is Manan Kumar Mishra?
Mishra is a senior advocate and BJP-nominated Rajya Sabha member from Bihar who has acted as chairman of the BCI since November 2014 and was re-elected to the post for a record seventh consecutive term in 2025, as the BCI chairperson is elected for a two-year term.
Mishra hails from Gopalganj district in Bihar and has completed his BSc (Honours) from Rajendra College, Chapra. He later pursued his LLB from Patna Law College. After his law degree, he started his legal practice at the Gopalganj Civil Court and then moved to the Patna High Court in 1982. He went on to become a senior advocate in the Supreme Court.
Mishra has also pursued a political career alongside his legal work. He ran in the 2010 Bihar Assembly election on a Congress ticket before later switching to the BJP. In 2024, the BJP put him forward for a Rajya Sabha seat from Bihar, where he won unopposed.