The Delhi High Court declined to order a fresh election for the Bar Council of Delhi, rejecting pleas seeking repolling over alleged electoral irregularities. The decision brings temporary closure to a significant legal dispute concerning the conduct, fairness, and administration of the BCD elections.
The Delhi High Court declined to order a fresh election for the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD), bringing temporary closure to a high-profile legal battle surrounding allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the polls.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Tejas Karia held that although the petitions challenging the election process were maintainable, the material placed before the Court did not justify directing a re-poll. The Bench, however, indicated that it had issued certain directions concerning the conduct of the elections and stated that a detailed judgment setting out its reasons would be uploaded shortly.
The Court said,
“We’ve found the petitions maintainable but found no reasons for re-polling. We’ve issued certain directions,”
The detailed judgment is still awaited.
Background of the Dispute
The controversy relates to the Bar Council of Delhi elections held in February 2025 for electing members to one of the country’s most significant statutory bodies governing the legal profession.
The elections were conducted under the supervision of retired Delhi High Court judge Justice Talwant Singh, who was appointed as the Returning Officer to oversee the polling process and ensure compliance with election rules.
ALSO READ: Bar Council Of Delhi Issues Notice On Identity Cards Required For February 2026 Elections
However, even before voting concluded, the election process became mired in controversy amid allegations of violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), misconduct by candidates, and concerns regarding the fairness of the electoral process.
Multiple advocates and candidates subsequently approached courts alleging serious irregularities and seeking intervention to safeguard the integrity of the election.
Following the conduct of the polls, several petitions were filed before the courts alleging procedural irregularities in voting and counting. Petitioners raised concerns regarding the handling of ballot papers, transparency in the counting process, and alleged violations that they claimed had affected the fairness of the election.
One of the key grievances related to allegations that even ballot papers suspected of being tampered with were being considered during the counting process.
These concerns led to demands for a fresh election and judicial scrutiny of the entire process. The Delhi High Court heard a batch of petitions filed by various lawyers and candidates challenging different aspects of the election and seeking a direction for repolling.
The dispute first reached the Supreme Court, where concerns regarding the integrity of the electoral process were extensively debated. On May 18, a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi took note of the allegations and decided to transfer all pending petitions relating to the Bar Council elections to a specially constituted bench of the Delhi High Court.
The Supreme Court also expressed concern over allegations that potentially tampered ballot papers were being counted. Pending consideration of the matter by the High Court, the apex court stayed the counting process, ensuring that no final result would be declared until the allegations were judicially examined.
ALSO READ: Supreme Court Criticises Punjab and Haryana Bar Council Over Bar Election Disputes
The Court considered it appropriate that the High Court, being closer to the factual aspects of the dispute, should undertake a detailed review of the election process.
Extensive Hearings Before Delhi High Court
The special Bench of the Delhi High Court conducted extensive hearings over three days, including proceedings held during the weekend. The Court heard submissions from several petitioners and respondents representing different stakeholders in the election dispute.
Senior lawyers and candidates appearing before the Court raised numerous issues relating to the conduct of polling, counting procedures, enforcement of election rules, and actions taken by election authorities.
To independently assess the allegations, the Bench also examined video recordings of the vote-counting process, which formed an important part of the evidentiary record before the Court. After hearing all parties, the Court reserved its judgment on June 1.
The Bar Council elections had witnessed controversy from the very beginning. On February 22, election authorities placed 67 candidates, including two senior advocates, under summary suspension for alleged large-scale violations of the Model Code of Conduct and Election Rules, 2023.
Notices were issued to a total of 79 lawyers. However, following representations and explanations submitted by affected candidates, election authorities revoked 63 of the suspension notices the very next day. The developments triggered criticism and allegations of inconsistent enforcement of election rules.
The controversy escalated further when allegations emerged regarding misconduct toward Returning Officer Justice Talwant Singh. A lawyer was subsequently placed under interim suspension by the Bar Council of India after allegations surfaced that he had misbehaved with Justice Singh during an inspection visit.
According to the allegations, the lawyer attempted to physically intimidate the retired judge, instigated a crowd of lawyers, and raised slogans against the election machinery while Justice Singh was examining complaints regarding Model Code violations. The incident attracted significant attention within legal circles and intensified concerns about the atmosphere surrounding the elections.
Further disciplinary measures followed in the weeks thereafter. The Bar Council of Delhi suspended former Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) President Rajiv Khosla along with nine other advocates from its rolls.
The action was taken over allegations that they had “manhandling, pushing and abusing” officials responsible for conducting the election process. The suspensions deepened divisions within the legal fraternity and contributed to the growing number of legal challenges surrounding the elections.
Amid the mounting controversy, Justice Talwant Singh reportedly addressed a confidential communication to the Supreme Court on May 2 regarding developments connected to the Bar Council elections. Although the contents of the communication were not made public, the letter added to concerns regarding the manner in which the elections had unfolded and further underscored the seriousness of the allegations being raised. Simultaneously, several petitions continued to be filed alleging irregularities and seeking judicial intervention.
High Court Declines Fresh Election
After examining the evidence, hearing the parties, and reviewing the video footage of the counting process, the Delhi High Court ultimately concluded that there was no sufficient basis to order a fresh election.
While the Court accepted that the petitions were maintainable and merited consideration, it was not persuaded that the alleged irregularities warranted the extraordinary step of directing a complete re-poll.
The Bench accordingly refused to interfere with the election process by ordering fresh voting. At the same time, the Court clarified that certain directions had been issued to address concerns raised during the proceedings. The nature and scope of those directions are expected to become clear once the detailed judgment is released.
FOLLOW US FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES ON YOUTUBE