The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) is on the brink of major electoral changes, with a high-powered committee led by former Supreme Court judge L. Nageswara Rao spearheading a review of its election rules.
In an effort to make the process more inclusive, SCBA members have been invited to weigh in on key reforms, submitting their suggestions via email ([email protected]) by March 20.
At the heart of this overhaul are critical issues such as voting rights, eligibility to contest, tenure, and the size of the executive committee. The committee is also scrutinizing potential disqualifications, including vote inducements.
SCBA members have been specifically asked to provide input on:
- Who can run? Eligibility criteria for candidates.
- Who can vote? Rules determining voter qualifications.
- How long? The tenure of the Executive Committee.
- How big? The ideal size of the Executive Committee.
- What disqualifies a candidate? Grounds for barring contenders, including offering inducements.
- Other concerns? Any additional election-related suggestions.
Submissions must be concise—limited to two pages—and must include SCBA membership details and contact numbers for verification.
This initiative follows a Supreme Court directive issued on February 25, where a bench led by Justices Surya Kant and N.K. Singh called for a revamp of SCBA’s long-standing election framework.
Notably, the Court has already introduced a landmark mandate requiring one-third of SCBA leadership positions to be reserved for women, signaling a broader push for inclusivity and modernization.
With decades-old rules under scrutiny, this reform effort aims to reshape SCBA’s election process into a more transparent and equitable system.
