The Delhi High Court has designated the Central Delhi Court Bar Association as the recognised court-annexed bar association for the Rouse Avenue District Court Complex.
A division bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Ravinder Dudeja said that the decision to establish a Bar Association is beyond the purview of the Bar Council of Delhi under the Bar Association (Constitution, Recognition & Conduct of Election) Rules, 2019.
It noted serious rule violations regarding membership enrollment after the formation of three associations – the Rouse Avenue Bar Association, the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court Bar Association, and the Rouse Avenue District Court Bar Association, and consequently, these associations cannot be accepted as court-annexed or recognised bar associations.
To streamline the management of the lawyers’ body, the court constituted an Adhoc Committee comprising representatives from various Bar Associations to oversee the membership drive, ensuring compliance with eligibility conditions and recent directions issued by the full bench in the Lalit Sharma case regarding election conduct and eligibility criteria.
Noting concerns about membership fees, the bench directed that only the admission fee of Rs 1,000 will be payable for now, with no monthly subscription until after the elections. The elected body will later determine a reasonable monthly subscription fee payable by the members, it said.
