SC orders two new election tribunals for bar council poll disputes
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the setting up of two election tribunals headed by former apex court judges Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Hima Kohli to adjudicate disputes arising out of state bar council elections.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to obtain formal consent of the two retired judges to lead the tribunals.
The order was passed to deal with a surge in litigation surrounding the conduct of bar polls across various states.
“One election tribunal shall be headed by Justice Deepak Gupta and another will be headed by Justice Hima Kohli,” the bench said, adding, “Let the BCI obtain consent and let the two tribunals be constituted. All grievances (regarding the elections) are to be addressed to the tribunals formed”.
The issue pertaining to 30 per cent representation for women in state bar councils also came up for discussion during the hearing.
The bone of contention has been the “co-option” mechanism, which allows for up to 10 per cent seats to be filled by women if an insufficient number of them are elected through the standard process.
Earlier, the bench had tasked the existing High-Powered Election Supervisory Committee, headed by former Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, to determine the exact “mode and manner” of this co-option to prevent potential misuse.
On April 13, the top court observed that the high-powered election supervisory committee headed by Justice Dhulia would determine the manner in which women candidates were to be co-opted in state bar council elections to fulfil the 30 per cent representation mandate.
The top court had, in December 2023, ordered 30 per cent reservation for women lawyers in state bar councils. It had also permitted a “co-option” mechanism to fill up to 10 per cent seats in situations where an insufficient number of women candidates were elected.
Earlier, the CJI-led bench had constituted a supervisory committee comprising Justice Dhulia, former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, and senior advocate V Giri to oversee state bar council elections and related issues.
