SC considers SCBA plea, stays order allowing lawyer to vote

The Supreme Court today took note of an urgent plea of the apex court bar body and stayed a lower court order allowing a non-permanent member to cast his vote in the ongoing election of the lawyers' body.
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), whose election was being held today in the apex court premises, mentioned its appeal for urgent hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra alleging that a Patiala House Court here has allowed a non-permanent SCBA member to cast his vote in the polls without assigning any reason in the order.
"Having heard counsel for petitioners and respondent-in- person and keeping in view the urgency of the matter, we entertain this petition and direct stay of the order dated December 12, passed by the Civil Judge (Senior Division) at Patiala House Court, New Delhi in Title Suit...whereby it has passed a mandatory order permitting the respondent-plaintiff to cast his vote in the election scheduled today.

"We are passing this order as no reasons have been ascribed and the jurisdiction of the Civil Court to permit the voter to vote in an election is, prima facie, not tenable," the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said.
The top court considered the submissions of Ajit Kumar Sinha, senior advocate and Vice President of SCBA and Gaurav Bhatia, Secretary of SCBA, that the lower court exceeded its jurisdiction and did not consider the earlier Supreme Court judgements while allowing advocate Nripendra Nath Bain to cast his vote in today's polls of the bar body.

Sinha said if a SCBA member does not fulfil criteria like submission of annual fees within the prescribed time limit, then he cannot be granted the status of permanent member of the bar body and as a result barred from voting in its annual election.
The apex court stayed the December 12 order of the trial court and fixed the appeal of SCBA for further hearing in the third week of January next year.