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Bar Council Of India
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has moved the Supreme Court seeking approval for a merit-based "co-option" mechanism to ensure 30 per cent women's representation in state bar councils. The BCI, the apex bar body, has proposed to fill a 10-per cent co-option quota by selecting women candidates who have secured the highest number of votes among those not elected, rather than through subjective appointments. The proposal aims to complement the 20 per cent seats reserved for women through direct election, bringing the total representation to the 30-per cent mandate previously set by the apex court. BCI chairperson and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, in a statement, said the bar body has considered the submissions made by stakeholders before the apex court-appointed High Powered Election Supervisory Committee on the co-option of women members in state bar councils. "This issue concerns not merely filling seats, but the larger institutional objective, which is ensuring that women ...
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the counting of votes for the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) elections following tampering allegations and asked the Delhi High Court to conduct day-to-hearing on the pleas. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the order while hearing a plea filed by Birender Sangwan and others. The CJI transferred the matter to a division bench of the high court, urging the Chief Justice to constitute a special bench to hear the dispute on a day-to-day basis. "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. "Consequently, we transfer these petitions to the Delhi High Court with a request to the Chief Justice to list the same before a special bench within this week," the bench ordered. The bench said till then the high
The Bar occupies an indispensable place in fortifying the rule of law and upholding the sanctity of the Constitution, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said on Wednesday while also stressing its importance in providing legal aid to the vulnerable and the marginalised. Addressing a gathering at a Constitution Day function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association, the CJI said the judiciary has repeatedly acknowledged the invaluable role of the Bar in safeguarding its virtues. "When we celebrate the pivotal moment when the people of India gifted unto themselves their most fundamental covenant, I stand before you and must emphasise that the Bar occupies an indispensable place in fortifying the rule of law and upholding the sanctity of our Constitution... "I do not hesitate in saying that if the courts are regarded as the sentinel of the Constitution, then the members of the Bar are the torchbearers who illuminate our path. They help us discharge our solemn duty with clarity and .
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Bar Council of India to notify elections for Punjab and Haryana bar councils in ten days and hold the polls by December 31, 2025. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi also directed apex bar body Bar Council of India (BCI) to hold elections for the Uttar Pradesh Bar Council by January 31, 2026 and address the genuine and bonafide grievances of electors. The top court passed the directions after it was pointed out that elections for Punjab and Haryana bar councils have not been notified and in Uttar Pradesh the voter list is not being uploaded on the website. Senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, who is also chairman of Bar Council of India, submitted that as per rules 180 days need to be there between the holding of election and its notification and they may face some difficulties in case of Punjab and Harayan. Justice Kant asked Mishra to form a committee headed by retired high court judge to hold the bar council elections for ..
State Bar Councils or the Bar Council of India cannot collect any "optional" fee other than the statutory charge from law graduates enrolling as lawyers, the Supreme Court has said while asking the Karnataka State Bar Council to stop collecting any such amount. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan passed the direction on a contempt plea filed by K L J A Kiran Babu, alleging that directions issued by this court in July last year on not charging exorbitant fees from enrolling law graduates by state bar councils, especially the Karnataka State Bar Council are not being complied with in letter and spirit. The Bar Council of India, in its affidavit, said all state bar councils are complying with the directions of the court and the Rs 6,800 charged by the Karnataka State Bar Council for ID cards, certificates, welfare fund, and training, among others, and Rs 25,000 over and above the statutory fees are optional and not mandatory. "We make it clear that there is nothing like
The Supreme Court on Tuesday grilled the Bar Council of India for "interfering in academic affairs of law colleges" and said the task should be left with academicians. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was hearing pleas challenging the BCI's 2021 decision to scrap the one-year LLM course in the country and de-recognise foreign LLMs. "Why are you interfering in academic affairs? Why should BCI decide curriculum, etc., of law colleges. Some academic expert should take of these things. In this country there is a very big class of lawyers. You have an onerous statutory responsibility of updating their knowledge and organising training programmes for them," the bench said. The top court added, "You can have training on art of drafting, understanding case laws, etc., and it should be part of your statutory responsibility. The curriculum has to be entrusted to the academicians." When senior advocate Vivek Tankha, appearing for the BCI, said it was the "existing system",