The Supreme Court on Monday indicated that all state bar council elections will be held under the supervision of retired high court judges to ensure a free and fair poll process.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said there is a trust deficit with the Bar Council of India (BCI), as well as state bar councils, and therefore an independent election panel headed by retired high court judges in each state will be appointed to oversee the process.
Senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, who is also the Bar Council of India chairman, said that the body does not have any objections if retired judges are appointed for conducting the elections to the bar bodies.
“State Bar council or Bar association elections are the most difficult elections on earth,” Justice Kant said, and asked Mishra to notify the elections for different states as early as possible.
Mishra said the Punjab and Haryana bar councils’ elections will be notified on Monday and the dates for seven states will be notified this week.
Senior advocate Madhavi Divan, appearing for the intervenor, submitted that court orders are being flouted, and pointed out that on October 9, the Delhi Bar Council notified dates for the election but on October 10, a notice was issued by the Bar Council of India dissolving the body.
Mishra said that they want the Bar Council of India (BCI) to be ousted from the poll process and want the elections to be held according to their wishes.
The bench told Divan that the BCI cannot be ousted from the election process and to ensure fairness, it will appoint local retired high court judges for all bar council elections.
On October 31, the top court directed the BCI to notify elections for the Punjab and Haryana bar councils in 10 days and hold the polls by December 31.
It also directed the apex bar body to hold elections for the Uttar Pradesh Bar Council by January 31, 2026, and address the genuine and bonafide grievances of electors.
The top court passed the directions after it was pointed out that elections for Punjab and Haryana bar councils have not been notified and in Uttar Pradesh, the voter list is not being uploaded on the website.
On September 24, the top court said elections in state bar councils have to be held by January 31, 2026, keeping in mind the long pendency.
It had said drives for verification of lawyers’ LLB certificates cannot be a ground for postponing the elections.
The top court was hearing a batch of pleas seeking to quash Rule 32 of the Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015, which empowers the BCI to extend the term of state Bar council members beyond the statutory limits prescribed under the Advocates Act 1961.