The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, has cancelled its 34th Annual Convocation, scheduled for September 12, 2026, after graduating students failed to reach consensus on a demand to issue a public statement inviting Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant, who is also the Chancellor of the University, to attend the ceremony.
The development follows a series of discussions between the University and the graduating batches over the proposed attendance of the CJI at the convocation.
The batches were formally invited on August 3 to the 34th Annual Convocation scheduled for September 12, with a rehearsal event on September 11. Students were informed that attendance at the rehearsal was compulsory for registration for the main ceremony, following which they booked travel and accommodation for themselves and their family members.
On August 15, a public statement signed by more than 700 members of the NLSIU community, including 165 graduating students, expressed solidarity with actions concerning the non-enrolment of NALSAR students and conveyed opposition to the proposed attendance of the BCI Chairman and the CJI at NLSIU’s upcoming convocation.
On August 17, the graduating batches were informed that CJI Surya Kant, in his capacity as Chancellor, wished to meet students to understand their position. A meeting was subsequently held. Following the meeting, students were asked to vote on whether they would attend a convocation with the CJI present, subject to there being no protest or disruption during the event. According to the students’, the possibility of holding the ceremony without the CJI or accommodating individual expression during the event was not offered.
The vote conducted on August 23 resulted in majority support for the proposed arrangement, particularly as cancellation of the convocation was presented as the alternative. Students were subsequently assured that BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra would not attend the ceremony.
However, on August 25, the graduating batches were informed that they would also be required to issue a public statement inviting the CJI to the convocation. The students say they were further informed that complete consensus, meaning majority support from each graduating cohort, would be necessary for the convocation to proceed.
According to the students, the requirement of issuing a public invitation had not been raised during any of the earlier discussions and therefore led to fresh deliberations across the four graduating programmes.
Between August 25 and 26, the batches considered the proposal. The majority of students in the B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) programme voted against issuing the public statement. The students cited, among other reasons, the late introduction of the requirement, the fact that the proposed statement could not mention that the BCI Chairman would not be attending, and that the public statement would be subject to vetting.
As complete consensus across the graduating batches was not achieved, the University informed the students on August 27 that it would not hold the convocation or associated events.
The University subsequently informed the graduating batches that their degrees would instead be conferred in absentia, with students being given the option of receiving them by post or collecting them from the campus.