The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to notify elections for the Punjab and Haryana Bar Councils within ten days and to ensure that polls are completed by December 31, 2025.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi also instructed the BCI to conduct elections for the Uttar Pradesh Bar Council by January 31, 2026, while ensuring that genuine grievances of electors are addressed.
The directions came after the court was informed that elections in Punjab and Haryana had not yet been notified and that in Uttar Pradesh, the voter list was not being uploaded on the website.
Justice Surya Kant, addressing BCI chairman and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, observed that the bar council elections have been delayed for too long and need to be conducted within a fixed timeframe.
“The bar council elections were not held for quite some time but now the Bar Council of India has agreed to hold the elections. Let’s cooperate with it and strengthen the democratic institution. We need to trust our democratic institutions in holding fair elections,” the bench remarked, addressing advocate Pradeep Yadav, who raised concerns about the missing voter list in Uttar Pradesh.
Manan Kumar Mishra submitted that under the rules, there must be a 180-day gap between notification and the holding of elections, and this could pose challenges for Punjab and Haryana. Justice Kant suggested that BCI should form committees headed by retired High Court judges to oversee the elections in different states.
Mishra informed the bench that such a panel already exists. However, the court directed that for Punjab and Haryana, another committee headed by a retired High Court judge should be appointed to ensure smooth conduct of the polls.
The bench emphasized that the BCI must make every effort to complete the elections for Punjab and Haryana by December 31, 2025, and if difficulties arise, they may be brought to the court’s notice.
Earlier, on September 24, the apex court had directed that elections to all state bar councils must be concluded by January 31, 2026, citing long delays. It had also clarified that ongoing verification drives for LLB certificates of lawyers cannot be used as a reason to postpone the polls.
Senior advocate Narender Hooda also pointed out that the current body of the Bar Council of India cannot continue beyond seven years under the Advocates Act, 1961.
The top court is hearing a batch of petitions challenging Rule 32 of the Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015, which empowers the BCI to extend the tenure of State Bar Council members beyond statutory limits.
