The Committee, led by former Supreme Court Judge Justice L. Nageswara Rao, has invited members of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to provide suggestions on reforms in the SCBA bye-laws, with a specific focus on provisions related to elections.

Suggestions are solicited from the members of the Supreme Court bar on the following issues:

• Eligibility conditions for contesting elections to the Executive Committee.
• Eligibility conditions for voting in elections to the Executive Committee.
• Tenure of the Executive Committee.
• Strength of the Executive Committee
• Disqualification of candidates (including, for providing inducement for votes).
• Any other issue concerning the election of members to the Executive Committee.

Suggestions can be submitted via email (scba.committee.2025@gmail.com) by March 20, 2025.

Submissions should be within two pages, without attachments. Contributors must also include their SCBA membership number and mobile number.

On February 25, a bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N.K. Singh appointed Justice Nageswara Rao as the Chairperson of the Committee formed to propose reforms in the SCBA election provisions.

The Committee will also include senior and experienced advocates from both the Advocates-on-Record and Non-Advocates-on-Record categories, provided they have never expressed interest in contesting SCBA elections as office bearers.

Justice Nageswara Rao was granted the liberty to select the Committee members.

This development occurred in the case of Supreme Court Bar Association v. BD Kaushik, where issues related to SCBA elections were raised. Notably, last year, the Supreme Court had issued an order mandating one-third reservation for women in SCBA posts.

The Court also observed that the norms, eligibility criteria, and fees of the SCBA had remained unchanged for decades, emphasizing the need for timely reforms.