Today, On 25th July, The Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea alleging violation of the “One Bar One Vote” rule during Awadh Bar Association elections. Justice Vikram Nath-led bench made a sharp comment in Hindi while dismissing the case.
The Supreme Court refused to accept a petition filed by a member of the Awadh Bar Association regarding alleged violations of the “One Bar One Vote” principle during the ongoing elections of the Bar Association.
The matter was heard by a bench led by Justice Vikram Nath.
The petitioner approached the Supreme Court, claiming that the “One Bar One Vote” rule meant to prevent lawyers from voting in more than one Bar Association was not being followed in the Awadh Bar Association elections.
However, the Court found no urgency in the matter as the election process had already started.
Justice Vikram Nath clearly told the petitioner,
“Election process has begun, the plea is infructuous.”
But the petitioner disagreed and responded,
“Aisa nahi hai.”
On hearing this, the bench made a humorous but strong remark in Hindi.
The Court said,
“Aap dono pati‑patni milke poora Awadh Bar ka election khatam kar dena chahte hain! Bechare elders committee ne resign kar diya, itna pareshan kiya aapne. Aapke peeche kaun hai?”
The bench also noted how much pressure had been put on the elders committee, which led to their resignation.
“One Bar One Vote” is a principle to bring fairness and transparency in Bar Association elections across the country.
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A lawyer can vote in only one Bar Association election that is, the one where they are an active and regular member and where their name is officially recorded.
They cannot vote in multiple Bar Associations even if they are members of many. This rule helps to stop misuse of voting rights and ensures that lawyers don’t influence elections in more than one place.
This principle helps maintain clean and democratic elections in legal bodies by making sure that lawyers do not vote from places where they do not practice regularly or have no real involvement.