The Supreme Court on Monday halted the counting of votes for the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) elections, ordering an immediate stay of the process following serious allegations of ballot tampering.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi put the counting on hold and transferred the dispute to the Delhi High Court. The top court has requested the High Court’s Chief Justice to constitute a special division bench within this week to adjudicate the matter through day-to-day hearings.
The Supreme Court’s intervention came during a hearing on a petition filed by Birender Sangwan and others.
Representing the petitioners, advocate Shobha Gupta pleaded for urgent judicial action, warning the bench that the very integrity of the democratic process within the Bar was under threat.
“Tampered ballot papers are being counted… there is an emergency,” Gupta told the court, pushing for swift intervention to preserve the sanctity of the election.
While acknowledging the urgency, Chief Justice Surya Kant observed that the Delhi High Court is better positioned to handle the operational details of the dispute.
The apex court noted that resolving the controversy would likely require examining physical evidence, which is more practical at the High Court level.
“Learned counsels for the parties have fairly agreed that since effective adjudication of controversy might require summoning of original records, such as ballot papers etc., it would be apt, if matter is entrusted to a division bench of the Delhi High Court,” the Supreme Court bench ordered.
In addition to transferring the petitions, the Supreme Court revealed it had received a letter in a sealed cover dated May 2 from former High Court judge Justice Talwant Singh regarding the election process. The bench ordered that this letter be resealed and sent directly to the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court to assist with the upcoming proceedings.
The Supreme Court clarified that it has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the tampering allegations, leaving all legal arguments open for the High Court to decide.
However, to preserve the status quo and prevent any compromised outcomes, the court ordered that further counting of the ballot papers must remain entirely suspended until the Delhi High Court delivers its final decision.
