BCI Co-Chairman Y.R. Sadasiva Reddy Demands Manan Kumar Mishra's Resignation Over NALSAR Row

Home / Top Stories BCI Co-Chairman Y.R. Sadasiva Reddy Demands Manan Kumar Mishra's Resignation Over NALSAR Row X BCI Co-Chairman YR Sadasiva Reddy sought Manan Kumar Mishra’s resignation, citing allegations of financial and administrative irregularities Senior Advocate YR Sadasiva Reddy demanded Manan Kumar Mishra’s resignation, alleging prolonged concentration of power, opaque appointments, transfer of BCI funds to a private trust and irregularities in the NALSAR enrolment controversy Y.R. Sadasiva Reddy , Senior Advocate and sitting Co-Chairman of the Bar Council of India (BCI) , has written to BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra demanding his "immediate resignation," accusing him of running the statutory body as personal fiefdom over more than a decade in office. The letter, dated 22 August 2026 , is addressed to Mishra at the BCI's Rouse Avenue office in New Delhi and lays out eight separate grounds for the demand; ranging from opaque staff appointments to the diversion of BCI funds into a privately controlled trust, and culminating in the recent order barring NALSAR University of Law's 2026 graduating batch from enrolment. Reddy, who describes himself as a member of the profession for over three decades and an elected BCI Member, opens by asserting that the Bar Council of India "is not the personal estate of any individual" but a statutory body "holding funds contributed by lakhs of advocates." He states the letter is written "not as an adversary, but as an elected Member of the Bar Council of India... with considerable anguish, and only after long reflection." 1. Opaque staff appointments: Reddy alleges that a review of BCI's employment records shows "a pattern that no responsible Member can overlook", "a striking proportion of the staff are persons connected to you personally, several of them being members of, or related to, your own family," with no advertisement, selection committee record, or merit list on file. 2. Diversion of ₹150 crore to a private trust: The letter states that the historic Bar Council of India Trust, which helped found the National Law School of India, Bengaluru; was allowed to lapse, while a new entity, "BCI Trust PEARL- First," was registered on 17 September 2020 with trustees of Mishra's own choosing. Reddy says a resolution was then passed transferring "a sum of the order of Rs. 150 crores of the funds of the Bar Council of India" to this new trust, over his recorded objection. 3. "Contributions" allegedly demanded from law colleges: Reddy cites "persistent and credible complaints" from multiple states that law colleges seeking BCI approval or renewal are being asked for "contributions" ranging from "Rs. 25 lakhs to Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 1 crore." 4. Family members in institutional posts: He alleges key administrative positions in institutions run by the Council and the trust are "once again, drawn from your family," with no feasibility study or governance structure ever placed before the Council. 5. The NALSAR order; described as the gravest ground: Reddy states that on 13 August 2026 , a communication from Mishra's office directed state bar councils not to enrol the graduating batch of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad , over a students' representation concerning a convocation guest invitation. He says the direction was issued " without the material being placed before the Bar Council of India... without any resolution of this Council authorising it," and that he himself was never consulted. The order was withdrawn within hours amid what Reddy calls nationwide condemnation, was called "illegal and disproportionate" by the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and drew disapproval from the Supreme Court itself, before Mishra issued a letter of regret on 15 August 2026. Reddy calls it "by itself sufficient ground for you to demit office." 6. Encouraging factionalism in State Bar Councils through favoured groups and orders issued without notice to affected parties. 7. Over a decade in a