The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Haryana State Bar Council to clarify its stand on the appointment of a retired High Court judge as the head of an election tribunal to oversee bar association polls across the state.
The direction came from a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, which noted with concern that despite an earlier suggestion from the court, the Bar Council had not submitted any response on the proposal.
The issue came up during the hearing of a batch of petitions raising concerns over the transparency and fairness of elections held for the district bar associations in Karnal and Rohtak, Haryana. These petitions have highlighted broader concerns regarding electoral conduct in various district bar associations in Punjab and Haryana.
“As of now, it is difficult to say whether there is any prima facie merit in the allegations and counter allegations,” the bench observed. “However, in order to ensure that the Bar Council, as a statutory body, remains above Board, we have suggested on the previous date of hearing that they may nominate a former Judge of the High Court, especially someone well-conversant with the functioning of the Bar Association/Bar Council, to act as the Election Tribunal, to conduct statewide elections.”
The court emphasized that this recommendation was made to uphold the integrity and independence of the Bar Council’s electoral process and ensure credibility.
Given the lack of response, the Supreme Court has now directed the chairman of the Haryana State Bar Council to submit a formal proposal on the matter within five days. The case will next be heard on May 27.
