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"The Bar of this country deserves better than what it is presently receiving from its own Council. I ask you to allow it that opportunity," Reddy said towards the conclusion of his letter. Reddy has also sought a Special Meeting of the BCI, a special audit of the Council and BCI Trust PEARL-First, and an immediate halt to contributions, donations or payments from law colleges, universities or their managements. He has set out eight grounds for seeking Mishra's resignation, including the BCI's handling of the recent NALSAR controversy.

Reddy alleged that the BCI Chairman's office directed that the 2026 graduating batch of NALSAR University of Law not be enrolled following an episode concerning students expressing an opinion relating to their convocation. He said the decision was taken without the matter being placed before the BCI or deliberated upon by the Council. "I was not consulted. To the best of my knowledge, the Council as a body was not consulted", he says.

Reddy said the direction was withdrawn within hours following criticism and Mishra subsequently issued a letter expressing regret. But he said the episode had seriously damaged the BCI's standing. "The point is that the office of Chairman was used to threaten an entire graduating batch of law students -- young men and women with no power and no voice -- with exclusion from the profession, as a reprisal for having held an opinion. That single act, in my respectful but firm view, has done more damage to the standing of this Council than anything else in its history, and it is by itself sufficient ground for you to demit office", the letter says.

Reddy's first ground concerns appointments to the BCI establishment. He alleged that appointments were made without advertisements, selection committee proceedings or comparative merit lists and alleged that several employees were connected to Mishra or his family. "A striking proportion of the staff are persons connected to you personally, several of them being members of, or related to, your own family", he says.

His second ground concerns the transfer of Rs 150 crore from the BCI to BCI Trust PEARL-First, which Reddy said was created after the BCI Trust was allowed to fall into disuse. He questioned the manner in which the new Trust was created and said BCI members had not been shown its Trust Deed. "It is not a licence to raise funds", Reddy says.

Manan Mishra calls allegations 'baseless'

Mishra alleged that Reddy was politically opposed to the BJP and had opposed him since his time in the party. "But whatever allegations Mr. Reddy has put are personally and politically motivated allegations," Mishra said.

He further claimed that more than two-thirds of BCI members continued to support him and said the Council had held a physical meeting and conducted business transactions despite the allegations.

Mishra further challenged Reddy to substantiate his claims regarding the Council. "He should come and prove it. If he proves it, then I am out," he said, adding that such allegations did not suit Reddy, whom he described as a senior lawyer.

On the allegations related to the trust, Mishra maintained that its functioning was fully transparent. He said the trust was managed by Bar Council members and senior advocates, and that its accounts were audited annually. He added that the audit report is incorporated into the budget and published for public access.

"Manan Mishra will remain president as long as the country's lawyers, the voters, want him to stay," he said.