Office Bearers Of Bar Association Are To Be Elected By Advocates Regularly Practicing In That Court; Outsiders Cannot Be Permitted To Take Part : Supreme Court

"Any member of the Bar cannot be permitted to misbehave in the premises of the High Court. The manner in which the lawyers acted and misbehaved on 14.08.2021 in the premises of the High Court, where the election of the Awadh Bar Association was going on, cannot be tolerated and accepted and has to be deprecated," bench further observed.

"Being a member of the legal profession, which always is being considered as a noble profession, what message the lawyers, who misbehaved will give to the public at large," Court also added.

Appearing for petitioners Amit Sachan and Alok Tripathi who are practicing lawyers and contesting the election of the Awadh Bar Association, Senior Advocate R Balasubramanian submitted that the High Court without appreciating that it would be very difficult to bring back nearly 4500 members again for voting in this pandemic situation, cancelled the election of the Awadh Bar Association which were held on August 14, 2021. It was also their contention as far as the earlier election was concerned, only polling was cancelled by the Returning Officer.

Senior Counsel also argued that the High Court was not at all justified in declaring fresh elections since in the election which was held on August 14, 2021, only 3614 members out of 4500 had cast their votes directly and the remaining members who had to cast their vote were only 1219.

The High Court bench of Justices Ritu Raj Awasthi and Dinesh Kumar Singh had taken suo motu cognizance of the unruly, incident and rustic behaviour and breach of protocol by some of the lawyers during the Awadh Bar Elections on August 14, 2021, that had ultimately led to the cancellation of the election of Awadh Bar Association since this had caused security issues in the High Court's premises. It had also compelled the officers and Police to intervene to maintain the decorum.

The Supreme Court noted that "In the election of Awadh Bar Association scheduled to be held on 14.08.2021, the candidates/advocates alongwith their supporters entered into the voting arena and indulged in tearing ballot papers and in pushing female lawyers and misbehaving with them. Even one lawyer was seriously injured and his hand got fractured in the incident. One lawyer suffered heart attack"

The Court further observed that the High Court had rightly taken suo moto cognisance and issued various directions including holding fresh elections on September 25, 2021.

It also said that the directions that were issued by the High Court in paragraph 24 that dealt with mandatory conditions that were to be complied by a Member of Awadh Bar Association to participate in the election 2021 either for the purpose of contesting the election or casting his/her vote could not be faulted in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case since they were issued to maintain the purity of the election of the Bar Association.

Reliance was also placed by the bench on paragraphs 16 to 19 of Top Court's judgement in R. Muthukrishnan Vs. Registrar General, High Court of Judicature at Madras, to emphasize on the importance of the Bar and the role to be played by the members of the Bar in the administration of justice delivery system and on paragraph 31 in which it was observed that there is no room for taking out the procession in the court premises or slogan raising in the courts. The Top Court in the aforesaid case had heavily criticised the misbehaviour of the advocates in the premises of Madras High Court which had resulted in requisitioning of CISF for maintaining safety and majesty of the Court and rule of law.

Noting that the matter was sub judice before the High Court, the bench refrained from making further observations on the conduct of the advocates who misbehaved, pushed female lawyers and misbehaved with them.

"We see no reason at all to interfere with the impugned orders, which as such is in furtherance of maintaining the purity of the election of the members of the Bar Association," Top Court observed.

Case Before Allahabad High Court

The Court while taking suo moto cognisance of the ruckus amid the Awadh Bar Association elections, had made it mandatory on August 24 that for a Member of Awadh Bar Association to participate in the election 2021 either for the purpose of contesting the election or casting his/her vote, among other conditions, had to be a regular practitioner of the High Court, Lucknow.

It also attached an explanation so as to clarify who could be called a regular practitioner.

To ease the procedure of election, the High Court on August 27 relaxed the conditions determining 'regular practitioner' of this Court (for the purpose of contesting the election or casting his/her vote) by modifying its earlier order (dated August 24) in the following manner:

(I)The period of three years shall be reduced to two years.

(II)The minimum cases filed in a year for the last two years shall be ten cases for the year 2019 and 5 cases for the year 2020.

(III)The Lawyers whose houses are on Lucknow-Barabanki road or in the colonies on the Lucknow-Barabanki road shall be treated to be residents of Lucknow.

(IV)The Advocate-Oath Commissioners shall be treated to be 'regular practitioners'.

(V)All the Chamber allottees shall be included in the definition of 'regular practitioner'.

Case Title: Amit Sachan & Anr v Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow and others

Citation : LL 2021 SC 507
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