High Court rejects Plea against ‘one bar, one vote’ norm

The Orissa HC 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 State Bar Council (SBC) had issued on Feb 10 scheduling Mar 28 for conducting the elections. The association had two years term & election to its executive council was held a year ago, the petition stated & sought exemption from holding elections on Mar 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 & 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 State Bar Council (SBC) had passed a resolution to implement the rule for elections by all the associations of the State, including that of the HC, on Feb 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 Mar 28 for holding of elections by all affiliated bar associations, the State Bar Council (SBC) had sent their respective voter list along with the Feb 10 order.

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