CJI Surya Kant to attend NLSIU Bengaluru convocation on Oct 17 after cancellation row

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant will attend NLSIU Bengaluru's 34th annual convocation on Oct 17 as Chancellor. Ceremony was earlier cancelled for 2026 batch.

Updated : Oct 07, 2026, 08:02 PM IST

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant will attend the 34th annual convocation of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, on October 17. CJI Kant will preside over the ceremony as the university's Chancellor.

Veteran theatre and film personality Arundhati Nag will be the Chief Guest and deliver the Convocation Address. The ceremony will be held from 11 am to 1 pm at the Jnana Jyoti Auditorium on Palace Road in Bengaluru.

The convocation comes after NLSIU had earlier cancelled the ceremony scheduled for September 12. The university had announced that no convocation would be held for the 2026 batch due to "unavoidable circumstances" and said students would be conferred degrees in absentia.

Students of NLSIU had objected to Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra and CJI Kant attending the convocation. They had also demanded an unconditional apology from BCI to the student and faculty community of NALSAR University, Hyderabad.

The controversy stems from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, where students had opposed the proposed presence of CJI Kant at their convocation. The issue escalated on August 13 when the BCI directed State Bar Councils to halt the enrolment of NALSAR's graduating batch, although the directive was withdrawn within hours.

Following the episode, NLSIU students and alumni expressed solidarity with NALSAR students and criticised the BCI's action.

According to Bar & Bench, Justice Kant met NLSIU students to hear their concerns. Students were later asked to vote on attending a convocation at which Kant would be present, with a majority supporting the arrangement on the understanding that Mishra would not attend.

The issue reportedly resurfaced after students were asked to publicly invite Kant to the ceremony, a demand the graduating batch did not agree to. The September 12 convocation was subsequently cancelled.

NLSIU's governing bodies later approved October 17 as the new date, with students allowed to receive their degrees either in person or in absentia.