Bar Council chief MK Mishra gets 15-day ultimatum to resign over fund diversion, graft allegations

In a sharp internal revolt within the apex regulatory body for medical and legal standards, Bar Council of India (BCI) Co-Chairman YR Sadasiva Reddy has issued a 15-day ultimatum to Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, demanding his immediate resignation.

In a hard-hitting letter dated August 22, Reddy outlined serious allegations ranging from the unauthorised transfer of ₹150 crore in statutory funds to a private trust, irregular staff recruitments, family appointments to key posts, and an extended 14-year tenure that allegedly violates the democratic principles intended for the office.

The the letter Reddy calls for a special BCI meeting, an immediate halt on contribution payments collected from law colleges, and an independent audit of BCI accounts alongside those of "BCI Trust PEARL - First" — a private entity created during Mishra’s chairmanship.

"The Bar Council of India is not the personal estate of any individual... Every rupee it holds is held in trust. Every power it exercises is a power conferred by Parliament for the benefit of the Bar, and not for the benefit of the person who happens to occupy the Chair," Reddy stated in the letter, emphasizing that under Mishra’s prolonged tenure, the regulator has drifted significantly from its expected standards.

The allegations 

The primary flashpoint in the dispute involves the alleged diversion of statutory funds. According to Reddy, the "BCI Trust PEARL - First" was registered in 2020 with trustees handpicked by Mishra. Roughly ₹150 crore was subsequently transferred from the BCI’s reserves into this trust, despite objections from several council members.

The letter further notes that distinguished public figures, including former judges, were later associated with the trust to lend it undeserved respectability, effectively rendering the original BCI Trust defunct.

The letter also alleges a commercialised approval pipeline for legal education institutions, citing complaints that law colleges seeking BCI recognition or renewal were required to make "contributions" ranging from ₹25 lakh to ₹1 crore to the BCI Trust PEARL.

Pointing to the visible toll on legal education, Reddy noted: “Colleges that ought never to have been approved continue year after year, and thousands of young persons are sold a degree that equips them for nothing.”

In addition to financial irregularities, the Co-Chairman flagged severe administrative flaws, including:

• Nepotism and Irregular Staffing: Staff members closely linked to Mishra were allegedly recruited without job advertisements or transparent procedures, while his family members hold key administrative posts in BCI-run educational institutions. 
• Monopolised Tenure: Mishra’s uninterrupted tenure as Chairman since 2012, spanning over 14 years across successive terms, including a re-election in 2025, departs directly from the rotational principle intended by Parliament. 
• Factionalism: The issuance of unilateral orders without full Council deliberation has reportedly fostered divisions within State Bar Councils.

The demand for Mishra's exit gained direct momentum inside the statutory body during a General Council meeting held at the BCI office today. BCI member Manoj Kumar Narendran from Kerala formally raised the demand for the Chairman's resignation before the assembly, receiving immediate backing from Uttar Pradesh BCI member Advocate Srinath Tripathi.

In a follow-up letter, Narendran expressed deep anguish over the BCI's current functioning, describing a 14-year leadership by a single individual as "unhealthy" for a statutory body built on collective responsibility and democratic representation.

Mishra's rebuttal 

Responding to the charges in Delhi, BCI Chairman and BJP MP Manan Kumar Mishra outrightly dismissed the allegations as baseless and political, maintaining that he retains strong support among the legal fraternity.

"I am an elected representative. I was neither selected nor nominated to the Bar Council of India... This is my seventh term. I have been elected unopposed for the last six terms. Even today, more than two-thirds of the Bar Council members support me," Mishra stated.

Addressing the financial allegations, Mishra insisted that the trust's operations are fully transparent, managed by senior advocates and BCI members, subject to annual audits, and published in the public domain as part of the budget. He attributed the claims to external factions attempting to malign the institution, adding, "Manan Mishra will remain president as long as the country's lawyers, the voters, want him to stay."