In a startling breach of electoral integrity striking at the heart of the legal profession's own democratic process, the Bar Council of Delhi, a statutory body governing advocates under the Advocates Act, 1961, lodged a formal complaint with Tilak Marg Police Station on April 15, 2026, triggering the registration of an FIR and the immediate arrest of a counting staff member for allegedly manipulating ballot papers during the ongoing vote count for the Council's 23-member election. The case has sent shockwaves through Delhi's legal community, raising urgent questions about the sanctity of the Bar Council's electoral process and the security of ballot papers held within the Delhi High Court premises itself.
The controversy surfaced during what should have been a routine phase of the counting process. The Bar Council elections, contested by 221 candidates, were held across three days in February 2026, with counting commencing on March 7 at the seventh floor of the S-Block, Delhi High Court. The process follows a preferential voting system, under which candidates with the least votes are progressively eliminated. It was during the elimination of the 80th candidate on April 15 that election officials made a disturbing discovery, multiple ballot papers showed signs of deliberate manipulation.
The alleged modus operandi was surgical in its precision: the digit '2' marking a voter's second preference had been converted into '12' by prefixing the numeral '1', effectively erasing the original second preference and substituting a fresh one in favour of Ballot No. 132, advocate Vishnu Sharma. An internal inquiry conducted by the Election Committee swiftly identified one Nikhil Kumar, aged 24, of Ramesh Nagar, New Delhi, appointed as counting staff, as the alleged architect of the manipulation. Kumar was produced before police the same evening.
The Bar Council's Secretary, retired Col. Arun Sharma, formally lodged the complaint, describing the ballot papers as valuable security documents creating vested rights in statutory office, and demanding immediate action. On the strength of the complaint, Tilak Marg Police registered FIR against Nikhil Kumar under Sections 318(4), 336(3), 340(2), and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, provisions covering forgery of valuable security, fabrication of false evidence, using forged documents, and criminal conspiracy.
The investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Santosh, took up the matter for investigation, with the complaint noting that the forged ballot papers had been scanned and annexed as evidence, and that further material would be supplied as the inquiry progresses.
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