The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the Bar Council of India (BCI) headed by Manan Kumar Mishra can take any policy decision only in consultation with the Attorney General and the Solicitor General.“Both the Attorney General for India and the Solicitor General of India shall be actively associated with every policy decision taken by the Bar Council of India,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant ordered.Noting that Mishra was only a pro-tem Chairman and not a democratically elected office-bearer, he could only manage the day-to-day affairs of the BCI, said the Bench which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana.“You should also bear in mind that you are like a pro-tem Chairman till a fresh election of the Bar Council of India, pursuant to the elections already conducted in the State Bar Councils, takes place. So, it is not a situation where he is democratically elected and continues to be so. His term is co-terminus with the elections which are imminent. Because the new Bar Councils are about to be constituted,” the Bench told senior counsel Guru Krishnakumar, who represented the BCI.The order came on petitions seeking Mishra’s removal from the top post of the BCI which regulates the legal profession and education in India.Senior advocate Mishra – who is also a BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar — was first elected as BCI Chairman in 2012. After briefly demitting the office in 2014, he returned as chairman in November that year and has remained the BCI Chairperson since then.On behalf of the petitioners, Senior advocates Madhavi Divan, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, C Uday Singh, Shobha Gupta and others alleged gross illegality in senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra continuing as BCI Chairperson for more than a decade allegedly without any lawful authority.They also alleged gross illegalities in setting up a new BCI trust – ‘PEARL FIRST’ – in which Mishra and several others have been life managing trustees in their personal capacity.The petitioners have also demanded an independent probe into the affairs of ‘PEARL-FIRST’ which runs the International University of Legal Education and Research in Goa.The Bench, however, said the issue of reconstitution of BCI will be considered only after elections to all State Bar Councils were held and they elected their representative to the BCI.Until the reconstitution of BCI, the current BCI office bearers can handle routine affairs while policy decisions shall be taken in consultation with the Attorney General and Solicitor General, it said.The Bench also laid down timelines for the constituting State Bar Councils so that the election of new BCI office-bearers could be conducted soon.It posted the matters for further consideration on September 17 to ascertain compliance with its directions on co-option and notification of new State Bar Councils’ composition.The top court requested High Court Chief Justices to complete the co-option of two women members to State Bar Councils within two weeks. State Bar Councils must notify their new composition within one week after High Court Chief Justices completed the co-option, it said.The newly constituted State Bar Councils must elect their Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, other office bearers and the one representative to the Bar Council of India within three weeks from the notification of their composition, the Bench ordered.