The Supreme Court of India approved an amendment to election rules issued by the Bar Council of India, allowing Bar Association office-bearers to contest State Bar Council elections without resigning from their positions first in a major relief.
The Supreme Court of India approved an amendment to election rules issued by the Bar Council of India (BCI).
The change allows office-bearers of Bar Associations to contest elections for State Bar Councils without having to resign from their current positions first.
Previously, office-bearers could not run unless they stepped down. Under the updated framework, they may contest, but if elected, they must undertake that they will not hold positions in both the Bar Association and the Bar Council at the same time.
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A Bench noted that the amendment adequately addresses the objections raised by Bar Association representatives, who had challenged the earlier restriction.
The Court approved the revised rules and ordered that they be published in the Official Gazette at the earliest.
The dispute centered on Chapter III of the BCI’s 2016 election rules, which imposed the disqualification. The Court had earlier questioned the rationale behind a blanket bar and directed the BCI to review the provision.
The applicability of the amended rule will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by a High-Powered Election Supervisory Committee.
The Amendment updates Chapter III of the BCI Uniform Rules (and Guidelines) governing the 2016 Bar Council elections and officially takes effect from 21 April 2026.
Under the revised framework, office-bearers of Bar Associations may now contest elections to the State Bar Councils, but only with specific safeguards in place. An advocate who currently holds any office in a Bar Association can file nomination for a State Bar Council seat, provided they submit an undertaking confirming that they will not hold two representative posts at the same time.
At the nomination stage, the candidate must clearly state that if they are elected to the State Bar Council, they will resign from their Bar Association post, or, if they prefer to remain an office-bearer of the Bar Association, they will step down from membership of the State Bar Council.
Once such an advocate is elected, they must, within 15 days from the date of declaration of results, formally choose only one of the two positions and communicate this choice in writing to both the respective Bar Association and the concerned State Bar Council.