The Supreme Court has provisionally allowed newly registered Advocates-on-Record (AORs) to participate as voters in the upcoming Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) elections, stepping in to address their exclusion from the electoral roll. The interim relief ensures that over 200 newly inducted AORs can vote, marking a significant intervention in safeguarding participatory rights within the legal fraternity while the dispute over eligibility remains pending.
The controversy arose after the SCAORA Election Committee fixed April 14 as the cut-off for membership eligibility, excluding candidates who were formally registered as AORs on April 16 despite having cleared the examination earlier and paid membership fees within time. Aggrieved candidates challenged the decision, arguing that their exclusion was arbitrary and based solely on administrative delay in formal induction.
While the petitioners maintained that they had fulfilled all substantive requirements for membership, the opposing side defended the exclusion on procedural grounds, asserting that voting rights could not be granted without formal verification and allotment of AOR codes. The dispute thus centered on whether technical formalities could override substantive eligibility in determining electoral participation.
The Court adopted a balanced approach, recognizing the inequity of denying participation solely due to procedural delay while preserving the integrity of the election process. It noted that the newly qualified AORs had effectively met all conditions for membership and could not be sidelined for reasons beyond their control. Emphasizing fairness, the bench observed that “only because of administrative exigencies” such candidates were formally inducted after the deadline, making their exclusion unjustified.
Accordingly, the Court directed that these AORs be permitted to vote provisionally, though they would not be eligible to contest the elections, and left open the question of postponing the election schedule to the Election Committee.
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