Hold Bar elections, but don’t declare result, says High Court

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 5

Acting on a petition claiming that the names of 69 members of the Chandigarh District Bar Association could not have been included in the voter list, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today ruled that the elections may go on but the result would not be declared.

The Bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Ashok Kumar Verma also asserted that the votes of respondents, arrayed from number four to 71, be cast and kept in a separate ballot box. However, it would not be opened and counted till further orders by the court.

The directions came on a petition filed by Bhag Singh against the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana and other respondents. His counsel contended that the names of 69 members could not have been included in the voter list on the grounds that they had availed themselves of a waiver in the arrears of subscription.

The Bench was told that the same, according to the Constitution of the District Bar Association, was not permissible. A reference was also made to an order dated April 9, 2015, passed by the High Court in the case of “Ranjan Lakhanpal versus the Bar Council of India and others”.

It was contended that the High Court in similar circumstances had referred to various provisions of the Constitution of the High Court Bar Association to come to a conclusion that the waiver could not be granted. See also P3