Following SC Order On Women Reservation, Delhi High Court Postpones Elections For DHCBA, District Bar Associations To December 13

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday postponed to December 13 the elections for the Executive Committee of Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) and all district court bar associations in the national capital.

A full bench comprising Chief Justice Manmohan, Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Yashwant Varma passed the order on an application filed by Secretary of DHCBA seeking postponement of the upcoming elections which were scheduled for October 19.

In March, the full bench had held that elections to the Executive Committee of all the bar associations in Delhi shall be held simultaneously on the same day for a uniform period of two years. For this year, it was ordered to be held on October 19.

After the matter was adjourned by the full bench to November 27, two SLPs were filed by women lawyers, Aditi Chaudhary and Shobha Gupta, seeking reservation for women advocates in the ensuing bar elections.

During the hearing today, the Court was informed that on September 26, the Supreme Court of India ordered that there should be women's reservation for posts in the Delhi High Court Bar Association. The DHCBA was directed to hold a general body meeting on the issue.

Accordingly, it was submitted, that the DHCBA's Executive Committee, in an emergent meeting held on 27 September, has fixed October 07 as the date for holding the general body meeting.

It was contended that in view of the officer order of the Supreme Court and the general body meeting having been called, the elections, its candidates and posts were all in a state of flux.

The counsel also stated that the deadline for submitting the declaration forms across all bar associations of Delhi was September 30 and a significant number of eligible voters were unable to submit their online form on the portal for obtaining the ID or proximity card for voting.

Furthermore, it was argued that it would serve the interest of justice if the Court allows the maximum participation of eligible voters and suitably changes or extends the date of elections.

In view of the submissions, the bench ordered:

“Keeping in view the Supreme Court order dated 26th September, 2024 as well as the fact that the GBM has been called for 07th October, 2024, and the process of nomination of candidates which normally takes 21 days can begin only post Supreme Court hearing on 16th October, 2024, (as on date, one will know which seat has been reserved for the lady candidates), the date of election is postponed to December 13, 2024.”

It added that in case the DHCBA wishes to extend time for filing or submission of declaration forms or for filing forms on the portal for issuance of proximity cards, the lawyers' body will be at liberty to approach the security committee overseeing issues of proximity cards.

The Chairman and Secretary of the Coordination Committee of the district court bar associations also prayed that the election for the district court bar associations be postponed to December 13.

“The date of election to all the bar associations, except Rouse Avenue, be postponed to December 13,” the court directed.

Notably, the issue of election to the Rouse Avenue bar (Central Delhi Court Bar Association) is being dealt with by a division bench.

Title: Shobha gupta vs bar council of Delhi and ors