New Delhi, February 19 The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to reconsider its rule that prohibits office-bearers of bar associations from contesting elections to the state bar councils.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi passed the order in response to a petition filed by lawyer Dhanya Kumar Jain, and subsequently disposed of the petition.
The petition challenged the Bar Council of India's Uniform Rules (and Mandatory Guidelines) for the Elections of Bar Councils, 2016.
The provision in question states that a lawyer who is an office-bearer of any bar association except the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) shall not be eligible to contest the election of a state bar council.
Furthermore, it stipulates that the returning officer shall reject the nomination papers of any such person who was or is an office-bearer of any bar association on the date of notification of the elections of the concerned state bar council.
While state bar councils are a statutory body, the bar associations are private organizations of lawyers practicing in a particular court or tribunal.