The Bar Council of India (BCI) has agreed to withdraw its August 5 notice that publicly named Dentons Link Legal and CMS IndusLaw as violators of rules on foreign law firm tie-ups, after the Delhi High Court pressed the regulator to backtrack. The BCI will issue a fresh circular which is more general in nature, without any specific names, it told the Delhi High Court earlier today.

It is to be noted that this is a withdrawal only of the public release, not a withdrawl of the individual notices against both firms, which will continue to proceed. The High Court’s order keeps interim relief in place, restraining the BCI from passing any final orders on the notices issues to the firms, until the next hearing.

Judges underscored the principle that “you can’t prejudge any lawyer or particular firm.”

On the second day of hearings in Dentons Link Legal’s legal challenge, the court directed the BCI to retract the notice and avoid naming individual firms in any replacement statement. The regulator committed to issuing a fresh, general circular.

“Pursuant to our order dated Aug 21, the BCI representative, on taking instruction, states that the matter has been revisited by the BCI and it has been decided to withdraw press circular dated 5th August and issue a fresh press release.”

The decision follows the court’s rebuke last week, when it cracked down on the BCI for compromising reputations by making public allegations before the firms could respond to show cause notices.

The controversy centers on BCI’s claim that the firms were effectively functioning as indian-foreign law practices through Swiss Verein structures—allegations both firms strongly deny, insisting they remain fully Indian-owned.

Here’s more on what the BCI’s action against these law firms could mean for the industry.