New Delhi, Oct 26 The Supreme Court on Monday permitted the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to hold its scheduled general body meeting on November 2 to discuss election reforms.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana also directed that the voting, if held, must be conducted by secret ballot and its results not be declared.
The outcome of the voting is to be submitted to the court in a sealed envelope, it said.
The directions were issued after senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, who heads the court-appointed committee examining reforms in the SCBA, raised concerns over the proposed meeting through an oral mention.
Gupta informed the bench that the SCBA had convened a special general body meeting to consider two resolutions linked to the court's May 29 order. The resolutions concern proximity card-based entry and veteran members of the association.
The meeting comes ahead of the next hearing on November 5 in a matter titled SCBA vs BD Kaushik in which the bench is monitoring electoral reforms within the association.
Clarifying that he was not opposed to the passage of any resolution, Gupta questioned the manner in which the meeting had been convened.
SCBA president and senior advocate Pradeep Rai defended the association’s decision, saying that the meeting was intended to ascertain the views of its members before the executive committee formed an opinion.
Rai said the concerns could have been addressed through discussions within the association instead of being brought before the court.
“Instead of coming to this court, we could have resolved it. Why waste the valuable time of this court,” the SCBA president asked.
During the hearing, the CJI clarified that the court-appointed committee’s proposals were intended to strengthen the position of genuine practitioners and were not aimed at curtailing their rights.
“Those who are genuinely regular visitors to the Supreme Court, having an interest in the Bar, the institution and the system, we want to strengthen their hands. All those outsiders who have nothing to do with the profession should be isolated and excluded,” the CJI said.
The bench finally allowed the SCBA to proceed with the November 2 meeting, subject to the condition that the voting be conducted through secret ballot and that the results remain undisclosed until further directions.
“Now that you have called the meeting, you may go ahead, but do not declare the outcome. Keep it in a sealed envelope and produce it before the Court,” the CJI said.
