High Court directs Bar Council to hold elections to all Bar Councils in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Madras

The Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTNP) to identify all registered Bar Councils across the state and union territories where elections have not been held for a long time in violation of their constitutions and ensure that elections are held in a free, fair and democratic manner.

A bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and C. Kumarappan ordered an audit of all bar associations registered with the BCTNP and the appointment of special officers to those associations where elections have not been held even after the expiry of the officers’ terms. The special officers must hold elections within four months.

The judges made it clear that the “one bar association, one vote” rule, which means lawyers are not allowed to exercise their right to vote in more than one bar association, should not be violated and gave the BCTNP the freedom to approach the police for protection against the conduct of elections. The judges also kept in mind the need for lawyers to maintain decorum and dignity.

In case of failure to hold elections to any bar association or if any serious irregularities or irregularities are found, the BCTNP should derecognise the said bar association and if such action is taken, the registrar of the high court or the principal judge of the district court concerned must take appropriate steps to restore availability of public facilities allotted to the said bar association, the court ordered.

There were also complaints that many lawyers were misusing political leanings to engage in undesirable behaviour inside the courts, so the judges directed the Directors General of Police of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to deploy sufficient police personnel in all courts within four weeks and report back to the courts on compliance by next month.

Women Lawyers Association

Passing another order in another writ petition, the division bench directed the BCTNP to appoint election officers and sufficient number of other officers to assist the election officers and conduct elections to Women Lawyers’ Associations (WLAs) functioning on the High Court campus by September 30 this year.

The court directed the present office-bearers of the society to hand over all details, including the complete list of members and other details related to the running of the society, to the BCTNP secretariat within two weeks and directed the secretariat to finalise the electoral roll before holding elections.

The judges said the new officers must ensure that future elections are held on time without giving rise to complaints of undue delay, and that if elections are not held on time as per the charter, the BCTNP can appoint women special officers.

The special officers have to hold elections within four months of their appointment and must strictly adhere to all the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975 while running the society, the court added.