The Delhi High Court has recently issued a notice to the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) in response to a petition requesting directives to promptly conduct elections for twenty-five members of the BCD.

A Division Bench led by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna has instructed the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) and the Bar Council of India (BCI) to submit their responses. The case has been scheduled for additional review on January 31, 2024.

The directive stemmed from a petition submitted by Awanish Kumar, a lawyer who had previously contested the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) elections. Kumar asserted that the last elections for the 25 BCD member positions were conducted in March 2018, and the subsequent elections were slated for June 2023. However, as of the filing of the petition, no steps had been taken to initiate the electoral process.

Instead, in March 2023, the BCD penned a letter to the Bar Council of India (BCI), requesting a six-month extension of its members' tenure. Responding on June 20, 2023, the BCI informed the BCD that the tenure extension had been granted and would last for six months. The recent court order arose in response to these developments.

The petitioner, Awanish Kumar, contended that there is an "illegal collusion" between the Bar Council of India (BCI) and certain members of the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD). According to the petitioner, this collusion aims to unlawfully take control and monopolize the operations of the BCD. Kumar alleged that the delay in conducting fresh elections is based on a flimsy pretext, specifically the verification process of non-practising advocates.

The plea asserted, "The identification and verification of non-practicing advocates, as well as the verification of their certificates, is an ongoing process without a foreseeable end, and elections should not be postponed due to such a frivolous reason."

Kumar has additionally contested a notification issued by the Bar Council of India (BCI) on June 23, 2023. This notification revoked Rule 30 and 32 of the Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015, and Kumar has raised objections to this action.

Under the new rule, if the expiration of the term of elected members of a bar council is anticipated due to delays in the identification of non-practising advocates or in the preparation of the electoral roll, the Bar Council of India (BCI) is empowered to permit the office bearers to continue functioning beyond their extended tenure.