CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Friday rejected a petition challenging the State Bar Council (SBC)’s decision to conduct elections of all the 167 bar associations affiliated to it on a single day to form their executive councils. Balasore Bar Association had filed a petition challenging the order that the SBC had issued on February 10 scheduling March 28 for conducting the elections. The association had two years term and election to its executive council was held a year ago, the petition stated and sought exemption from holding elections on March 28.
Several other bar associations faced the same situation as they had two years term. Disposing of the petition, the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanju Panda and Justice SK Sahoo held that allowing some bar associations not to hold elections on the same day along with the other associations in the State would violate the ‘one bar, one vote’ rule.
In 2015, the Supreme Court had set the rule as part of a guideline to identify the number of genuine advocates practising in various courts of the country. The rule allows a multitude of memberships of various bars but gives only one voting right to an advocate.
The SBC had passed a resolution to implement the rule for elections by all the associations of the State, including that of the High Court, on February 24, 2019. The resolution said all bar associations shall hold elections to form executive body annually on a single day in last week of March every year. While scheduling March 28 for holding of elections by all affiliated bar associations, the SBC had sent their respective voter list along with the February 10 order.