The backlash against Mishra, who’s an MP from the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, was swift and widespread, including from Chief Justice Kant who said the students had a right to protest and that the Bar Council had no business getting involved in what was “a dialogue between law students and me”.

Within hours, Mishra backtracked on his threat.

“After considering the representations and reactions of senior advocates, members of the Bar, law students and public spirited citizens, and being satisfied that the 2026 batch of Nalsar, Hyderabad, had no role in any disturbance or movement, the Bar Council of India has decided to close the proceedings altogether. No further action is required,” he wrote , externalon X.

In an apology letter, external addressed later to “dear young friends”, he wrote: “If anything connected with the present controversy, any of my words, or letter, has hurt the feelings of our law students, I sincerely regret and apologise for the same.”

His apology has failed to pacify the students and, at the weekend, students and alumni from a second premier law university – National Law School of India University in Bengaluru (NLSIU) – issued an open letter condemning Mishra’s comments.

The NLSIU students said they did not want Mishra to attend their convocation ceremony, that they stood in solidarity with Nalsar “in their request to reconsider the choice of the chief guest” and added that for the same reasons, they did not want the chief justice to be invited for their convocation either.

Kant on Sunday said he had “never accepted the Nalsar invitation” to be the chief guest at their convocation so the “question of me attending does not arise”, Times of India reported.

But his clarification is unlikely to be the last word on the controversy. Student anger against the chief justice’s reported remarks has been bubbling since May. It all began with an off-the-cuff remark in court when the top judge likened some unemployed youth to cockroaches and parasites.