India, Sept. 3 -- The Supreme Court has ruled that the Bar Council of India and State Bar Councils have no statutory power to take disciplinary action against law students, settling a jurisdictional question that arose from the BCI's controversial move against NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.

A three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana held that the Advocates Act, 1961 - the law under which the BCI is constituted - does not give the council any express or implied power to discipline law students. That authority, the court said, only arises once a graduate enrols as an advocate.

Until enrolment, the bench said, questions of a student's conduct fall exclusively within the doma...