BHOPAL: Supreme Court on Friday stayed State Bar Council Elections for two weeks. The elections were to be held on December 2. The campaign was at peak in various courts for the 25-member MP State council elections as the court’s order regarding the stay on the polls arrived.
As per the lawyers here, the stay is for two week but elections are likely to be postponed for next couple of months as there will be court’s winter vacation after the duration of the stay ends. The matter would be taken up not before January-February.
Bar Council elections are held after every five years and if elections are not held, Bar Council of India (BCI) gives six months additional time to hold elections.
Since the MP State council tenure ended this May and the additional six-month period too came to an end on November 29, the MP Bar Council elections were slated for December 2.
State Bar Council chairman Shivendra Upadhayaya said, “We have a tribunal of three retired judges Justice KK Trivedi, RK Mishra and SS Kocher and Bar Council secretary for holding elections. But BCI is of the opinion that the tribunal must have BCI member and seeking the same, it had filed a petition in Supreme Court. The court after hearing the petition, stayed the elections and asked state Bar council to file a reply within two weeks, informed Upadhayaya.
BCI also clarified that no elections of Bar Councils or Bar Associations shall be held till finalizing of the proposed Rules stipulating certain mandatory requirements for candidates desirous to be the representatives of Bar Associations/ Bar Councils. These Rules will be finalised in the Joint meetings of the entire State Bar Councils, High Court Bar Associations and major bar associations scheduled in scheduled in January 2020.
