The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the High-Powered Election Supervisory Committee headed by former apex court judge Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia to consider a plea seeking postponement of the Kerala State Bar Council elections. The Court noted the request in view of the forthcoming summer vacation of the Kerala High Court and the likely notification of the state assembly elections.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi took note of the submission that the Kerala High Court’s summer vacation is scheduled to commence on April 10 and that the state assembly elections may be notified around the same time. In this backdrop, a request was made before the Court to defer the Bar Council polls.
Taking note of the concerns, the Chief Justice asked the Dhulia-led panel to examine the request for postponement.
The Court had earlier fixed the election schedule and directed that the Kerala State Bar Council elections be completed before April 30. To oversee the process, the Supreme Court had constituted a High-Powered Election Supervisory Committee comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia (former Supreme Court judge), Justice Ravi Shankar Jha (former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court), and senior advocate V. Giri.
The matter regarding deferment will now be considered by the committee in accordance with the Court’s direction.
