New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Wednesday (September 2), ruled that no resolution can override the statutorily stipulated two-year term for the Bar Council of India (BCI) chairperson’s tenure, dismissing the regulatory body’s April 2025 resolution to confer a five-year term to chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra.The court’s order comes in the wake of two public interest litigations (PILs) questioning the BCI’s functioning and the legality of its decision to bestow an extended tenure upon Mishra.As per a report by Times of India, the petitioners demanded whether a statutory body “entrusted with regulating more than 20 lakh advocates, administering legal education, conduction the All India Bar Examination, exercising disciplinary jurisdiction and safeguarding independence of the legal profession, can lawfully permit prolonged concentration of regulatory authority in the same hands through successive and substantially uncontested terms.”The petitioners also raised the question of lavish spending on felicitation functions and seminars and alleged that the BCI misused its funds for opening law colleges in states, demanding an inquiry into the body’s spending.A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana said Mishra’s tenure cannot extend beyond 2027 as he is only a pro tempore chairman and not a democratically elected office-bearer. While Mishra may continue to be involved in the day-to-day functioning of the BCI until a new council is instituted, his position cannot be considered the same as that of a democratically elected chairman, reported LiveLaw.“What we generally do is, day-to-day functioning is left to the pro tem Chairman. But whenever a policy decision is taken, a permanent ex-officio member, like the Attorney General and Solicitor General, must be involved,” Justice Bagchi said, according to LiveLaw.The bench asserted that a new bar council was imminent following the recently concluded state bar council elections. The completion of the co-option of women members by high court chief justices involved in consultation with newly elected state council members would be completed within two weeks, following which the entire composition of the state bar councils will be notified.A week after that state bar councils would elect their representative to BCI, enabling the fresh selection of the chairperson and the vice-chairperson. Up until then, the advocates regulatory body will act in a pro tem manner and not take any policy-related decisions.The petitions contesting Mishra’s extended tenure were filed after the NALSAR controversy, where he had directed against the enrolment of graduates into the bar after they objected to Chief Justice Kant’s invitation to their convocation ceremony. Mishra had later issued an apology after his comments spurred widespread outrage and criticism.