diff --git a/.env.template b/.env.template
index 35647c5..f816416 100644
--- a/.env.template
+++ b/.env.template
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ MONGO_URI="mongodb://127.0.0.1:100"
 
 # needed by ./bot
 DISCORD_TOKEN=""
+BOT_ADMINS=""
 
 # needed by ./portal
 CAS_LINK="https://cas.my-org.com/login"
diff --git a/bot/main.py b/bot/main.py
index cefe147..4827c56 100644
--- a/bot/main.py
+++ b/bot/main.py
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 
 - `get_users_from_discordid()`: Find users from DB given user ID
 - `is_verified()`: If a user is present in DB or not
+- `is_bot_admin()`: If a user is a bot admin or not
+- `is_author_bot_admin()`: If the author of the current message is a bot admin or not
 - `get_realname_from_discordid()`: Get a user's real name from their Discord ID.
 - `send_link()`: Send link for reattempting authentication.
 - `create_roles_if_missing()`: Adds missing roles to a server.
@@ -15,11 +17,11 @@
 - `post_verification()`: Handle role add/delete and nickname set post-verification of given user.
 - `verify_user()`: Implements `.verify`.
 - `backend_info()`: Logs server details for debug purposes
-- `is_academic()`: Checks if server is for academic use.
+- `is_academic_or_bot_admin()`: Checks if server is for academic use or if the author is a bot admin.
 - `query()`: Returns user details, uses Discord ID to find in DB.
-- `query_error()`: Replies eror message if server is not academic.
+- `query_error()`: Replies eror message if server is not academic or author is not a bot admin.
 - `roll()`: Returns user details, uses roll number to find in DB.
-- `roll_error()`: Replies eror message if server is not academic.
+- `roll_error()`: Replies eror message if server is not academic or author is not a bot admin.
 - `on_ready()`: Logs a message when the bot joins a server.
 - `main()`: Reads server config, loads DB and starts bot.
 
@@ -57,6 +59,8 @@
 SUBPATH = os.getenv("SUBPATH")
 BASE_URL = f"{PROTOCOL}://{HOST}{_PORT_AS_SUFFIX}{SUBPATH}"
 
+BOT_ADMINS = [int(id) for id in os.getenv("BOT_ADMINS").split(",") if id != ""]
+
 intent = discord.Intents.default()
 intent.message_content = True
 bot = commands.Bot(command_prefix=".", intents=intent)
@@ -73,6 +77,15 @@ class DBEntry(TypedDict):
     view: bool
 
 
+class CheckFailedException(commands.CommandError):
+    """Custom exception to help identify which check function failed."""
+
+    def __init__(self, check_name: str):
+        """Initialise with the name of the check."""
+        super().__init__()
+        self.check_name = check_name
+
+
 def get_users_from_discordid(user_id: int):
     """
     Finds users from the database, given their ID and returns
@@ -89,6 +102,20 @@ def is_verified(user_id: int):
     return True if get_users_from_discordid(user_id) else False
 
 
+def is_bot_admin(user_id: int):
+    """Checks if the user with the given discord ID is a bot admin or not."""
+    return user_id in BOT_ADMINS
+
+
+def is_author_bot_admin(ctx: commands.Context):
+    """Wrapper check function for `is_bot_admin`; checks if the user who invoked the command
+    is a bot admin or not."""
+    author = ctx.message.author
+    if not is_bot_admin(author.id):
+        raise CheckFailedException("is_author_bot_admin")
+    return True
+
+
 def get_realname_from_discordid(user_id: int):
     """Returns the real name of the first user who matches the given ID."""
     users = get_users_from_discordid(user_id)
@@ -221,8 +248,10 @@ async def verify_user(ctx: commands.Context):
 
 
 @bot.hybrid_command(name="backend_info")
+@commands.check(is_author_bot_admin)
 async def backend_info(ctx: commands.Context):
     """For debugging server info; sends details of the server."""
+
     uname = platform.uname()
     await ctx.reply(
         f"Here are the server details:\n"
@@ -235,27 +264,45 @@ async def backend_info(ctx: commands.Context):
     )
 
 
-def is_academic(ctx: commands.Context):
-    """Checks if the server is an academic server."""
+@backend_info.error
+async def backend_info_error(ctx: commands.Context, error: Exception):
+    """If the author of the message is not a bot admin then reply accordingly."""
+    if (
+        isinstance(error, CheckFailedException)
+        and error.check_name == "is_author_bot_admin"
+    ):
+        author = ctx.message.author
+        await ctx.reply(f"{author.mention} is not a bot admin.", ephemeral=True)
+    else:
+        await ctx.reply("Some checks failed.", ephemeral=True)
+
+
+def is_academic_or_bot_admin(ctx: commands.Context):
+    """Checks if the server is an academic server or if the author is a bot admin."""
     if ctx.guild is None:
         return False
 
     try:
-        return server_configs[ctx.guild.id]["is_academic"]
-    except KeyError:
-        return False
+        author = ctx.message.author
+        is_admin = is_bot_admin(author.id)
+        if not server_configs[ctx.guild.id]["is_academic"] and not is_admin:
+            raise CheckFailedException("is_academic_or_bot_admin")
+        return True
+    except KeyError as err:
+        raise CheckFailedException("server_config") from err
 
 
 @bot.hybrid_command(name="query")
-@commands.check(is_academic)
+@commands.check(is_academic_or_bot_admin)
 async def query(
     ctx: commands.Context,
     identifier: discord.User,
 ):
     """
-    First checks if the server is an academic one. If so, finds the user who invoked the
-    command (by Discord ID) in the DB. If present, replies with their name, email and
-    roll number. Otherwise replies telling the user they are not registed with CAS.
+    First checks if the server is an academic one or if the author is a bot admin.
+    If so, finds the user mentioned (by Discord ID) in the command in the DB.
+    If present, replies with their name, email and roll number. Otherwise
+    replies telling the author that the mentioned user is not registed with CAS.
     """
     if db is None:
         await ctx.reply(
@@ -280,24 +327,37 @@ async def query(
 @query.error
 async def query_error(ctx: commands.Context, error: Exception):
     """
-    For the `query` command, if the server is not academic, replies with error message.
+    For the `query` command, if the server is not academic and if the author is
+    not a bot admin, replies with an error message.
     """
-    if isinstance(error, commands.CheckFailure):
-        await ctx.reply("This server is not for academic purposes.", ephemeral=True)
+    if (
+        isinstance(error, CheckFailedException)
+        and error.check_name == "is_academic_or_bot_admin"
+    ):
+        author = ctx.message.author
+        await ctx.reply(
+            "This server is not for academic purposes "
+            f"and {author.mention} is not a bot admin.",
+            ephemeral=True,
+        )
+    else:
+        await ctx.reply("Some checks failed.", ephemeral=True)
 
 
 @bot.hybrid_command(name="roll")
-@commands.check(is_academic)
+@commands.check(is_academic_or_bot_admin)
 async def roll(
     ctx: commands.Context,
     identifier: int,
 ):
     """
-     First checks if the server is an academic one. If so, finds the user who invoked the
-    command in the DB. If present, replies with their name, email and
-    roll number. Otherwise replies telling the user they are not registed with CAS.
+    First checks if the server is an academic one or if the author is a bot admin.
+    If so, finds the user mentioned in the command in the DB. If present, replies
+    with their name, email and roll number. Otherwise replies telling the author
+    that the mentioned user is not registed with CAS.
 
-    Same as the `query` command, except this searches by roll number instead of Discord ID.
+    Same as the `query` command, except the user is mentioned by roll number
+    instead of Discord ID.
     """
     if db is None:
         await ctx.reply(
@@ -322,10 +382,21 @@ async def roll(
 @roll.error
 async def roll_error(ctx: commands.Context, error: Exception):
     """
-    For the `roll` command, if the server is not academic, replies with error message.
+    For the `roll` command, if the server is not academic and if the author is
+    not a bot admin, replies with an error message.
     """
-    if isinstance(error, commands.CheckFailure):
-        await ctx.reply("This server is not for academic purposes.", ephemeral=True)
+    author = ctx.message.author
+    if (
+        isinstance(error, CheckFailedException)
+        and error.check_name == "is_academic_or_bot_admin"
+    ):
+        await ctx.reply(
+            "This server is not for academic purposes "
+            f"and {author.mention} is not a bot admin.",
+            ephemeral=True,
+        )
+    else:
+        await ctx.reply("Some checks failed.", ephemeral=True)
 
 
 @bot.event
diff --git a/server_config.ini b/server_config.ini
index 394937d..41f7e7f 100644
--- a/server_config.ini
+++ b/server_config.ini
@@ -115,3 +115,4 @@ grantroles=Verified
 [Discord-CAS Test Server 2024]
 serverid=1239556898592788520
 grantroles=Verified
+is_academic=yes
\ No newline at end of file