The Supreme Court declined to intervene in the ongoing State Bar Council election process to mandate reservations for specially abled advocates, but issued forward-looking directions to the Bar Council of India (BCI) to reform its rules, while immediately slashing the nomination fee for such candidates from Rs.1.25 lakh to Rs.15,000, lowering a major barrier to participation.
The issue reached the Court amid concerns that specially abled advocates lack meaningful representation in Bar Council bodies and face structural and financial hurdles in contesting elections. With elections already underway across several States, the BCI submitted that the existing statutory framework does not presently provide for reservation and that mid-stream changes could disrupt the electoral process.
At the same time, it acknowledged the need for inclusion and assured the Court that, for the current year, specially abled advocates would be co-opted into BCI committees to ensure participation.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, accepted that ongoing elections should not be disturbed but made it clear that temporary arrangements are insufficient. Emphasising the need for certainty and transparency, the Court observed that “there would ultimately have to be a statutory amendment” to embed adequate representation for specially abled advocates within the electoral framework.
Addressing the financial hurdle, the Court recorded the BCI’s decision to reduce the nomination fee to Rs.15,000 exclusively for specially abled candidates, clarifying that no parity claim would lie for others. The BCI was directed to initiate steps to amend the relevant provisions to secure effective representation in future elections.
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