The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed a fresh recount of votes cast for the Junior Executive Member posts in the recent Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections, even as it confirmed Senior Advocate Vikas Singh’s victory as SCBA President after an earlier recount.
A Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice KV Viswanathan noted that while the SCBA election committee had already conducted a recount for all posts on Monday, concerns remained specifically with respect to the Junior Executive Member positions (nine in total). To eliminate any remaining doubts, the Court instructed one more recount of those votes.
“We have impressed upon the election committee to hold a recount to satisfy some of the aggrieved members,” the Court said, while also directing the Secretary General to assist the recount. The process must take place in the presence of candidates or their nominees, and “none shall be allowed to interrupt… if any report is sent to us, strong action will be taken,” the Court added.
Background
The SCBA elections were conducted on May 20, with Senior Advocate Vikas Singh defeating Senior Advocates Adish C Aggarwala and Pradeep Kumar Rai for the post of President. Singh’s margin of victory increased after Monday’s recount, effectively ending any challenge to his election.
However, after the initial vote count, allegations surfaced from some members about bogus voting and discrepancies, including claims that the number of votes exceeded the number of issued ballot slips. This led to the matter being brought before the Supreme Court’s vacation bench, first heard on May 26 by Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta.
Following this, the Court directed a recount for all posts and instructed that no results be declared until the recount report was placed before it. After the report was submitted on Monday, Singh was again declared the winner for the post of President.
Court Rebukes Frivolous Allegations
During Tuesday’s hearing, the Bench came down heavily on Senior Advocate Dr. Adish C Aggarwala, who had unsuccessfully contested for the post of President. Aggarwala had alleged bias against members of the election committee, a claim the Court described as “frivolous and scandalous.”
“We advise Bar members to not indulge in such propaganda… which affects the integrity of the institution,” the Court initially recorded in its order.
After facing stern remarks from the Bench, Aggarwala withdrew his allegations unconditionally. The Court then modified its order:
“We do not pass any orders in Mr Aggarwala’s plea since he has unconditionally withdrawn his allegations.”
Justice Kant advised Aggarwala to remain respectful in dissent. Justice Viswanathan also defended the integrity of the election committee and warned against attempts to intimidate its members:
“If you start browbeating them like this or threaten them… we will not tolerate. They are our officers and we will ensure that nothing happens to them.”
Trust in the Election Committee
Although some concerns were raised, including by Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai, the Bench expressed confidence in the election committee’s work.
“Should we not trust them now? We need a robust system as it is an annual feature to ensure transparency… It’s a commendable job by the election committee,” Justice Kant said.
Senior Advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani, a member of the committee, stated that only 14 complaints had been received with respect to the Junior Executive Member elections. Senior Advocate Vijay Hansaria, also on the committee, remarked that the team was mentally exhausted from repeated recounts.
Despite this, the Court asked the committee to carry out one final recount for the Junior Executive Member votes to maintain faith in the process and provide closure to aggrieved parties.
Confirmed Results
- President: Senior Advocate Vikas Singh (Confirmed post-recount)
- Vice-President: Senior Advocate Rahul Kaushik
- Secretary: Advocate Pragya Baghel
The final results for the Junior Executive Member posts will be declared after the Court-reviewed recount is completed.
