New Delhi, Oct 31 (UNI) The Supreme Court today recorded the assurance of the Bar Council of India (BCI) that elections to the Punjab and Haryana State Bar Council will be announced within ten days, with an endeavour to complete the process by December 31, 2025.
A Bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted the submission of BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, who informed the Court that while the Council aims to complete the election by year-end 2025, the process could face procedural constraints as the BCI Rules prescribe a 180-day timeline for the conduct of elections.
Recording the assurance, Justice Surya Kant directed that a committee headed by a retired High Court judge be constituted to supervise the elections to the Punjab and Haryana State Bar Council. Mishra agreed to the direction.
Addressing members of the Bar present in Court, Justice Kant observed, “Elections were not being held in Bar Councils. We have partially issued some directions and partially persuaded the BCI, which has been very fair in taking a stand that they want to conduct elections. Let us all extend full cooperation so that this democratic institutional setup is restored.”
The Court also recorded that elections to the Uttar Pradesh State Bar Council are expected to be notified shortly and concluded by January 31, 2026.
Mr. Mishra informed the Bench that the BCI is committed to ensuring the timely completion of the UP elections, adding that genuine or bona fide objections to the voter list may be examined without prejudice to the parties’ right to approach the Election Tribunal.
The order was passed while hearing a batch of interlocutory applications filed in a writ petition challenging Rule 32, inserted in 2023 into the Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015.
The petitioners have argued that the rule illegally extends the tenure of State Bar Council members beyond the period prescribed under the Advocates Act, 1961.
Earlier, on September 24, 2025, the Supreme Court had directed that elections to all State Bar Councils across the country should be conducted, if not simultaneously, then in a phased manner, and completed by January 31, 2026.
