In a case raising the question of whether Bar Council elections are subject to the writ jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court under Article 226 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court today stated that if there is an issue relating to Bar Council elections, it will be referred to the concerned civil court.
Bench Justice Abhay S. Okah and Justice A.G. Masih. Notably, while dealing with the Alipore Bar Association case, this court had disposed of the plea by setting aside the plea, but the question of law remained unresolved.
To summarise the facts of the case, the petitioner Subir Sengupta filed a writ petition in the Calcutta High Court raising the issue of Alipore Bar Association elections.He alleged inter alia that the names of around 400 members of the association were included in the final voters’ roll despite not having gone through the AIBE.
The High Court dismissed the petition, set aside the election notification and directed the Bar Council of West Bengal to determine whether persons who have not cleared the AIBE are eligible to vote in the Bar Council elections.
Thereafter, Alipore Bar Association appealed and was allowed.A Division Bench of the High Court held that the writ petition under Article 226 against Alipore Bar Association was not maintainable.
“Any party dissatisfied with the outcome of an election or who wishes to raise an ‘election dispute’ may, on advice, seek redress of his grievance in any common law forum, i.e., a competent civil court, within such period as may be prescribed by law.”and recorded it as follows.
Aggrieved by the order, the petitioner approached the Supreme Court.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioners, argued that there was no contest between the parties in the elections and rather the issue was whether those who had not passed the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) would be given the right to vote. He argued that there had been two previous cases in the High Court where certain directions had been issued but they were not implemented. The senior advocate submitted that the writ petition on which the present plea is based merely sought implementation of the said directions.
After listening to him, Judge Oka said: “They (the courts) should not be further burdened by considering what the Bar Council is doing… there is a dispute about the Bar Council elections… it will be taken to the civil courts.”
At this point, Sankaranarayan sought to set aside the petition, pointing out that four other high courts had taken contrary views. He asked that the question of law be left open. The court accordingly passed the order.
Case Name: SUBIR SENGUPTA v. ALIPORE Bar Association Secretary and Others, Diary No. 23223-2024
