The recent decision by the Madhya Pradesh High Court saw the dismissal of a petition filed by the High Court Advocates Bar Association. The petition challenged the State Bar Council's denial to acknowledge it as an independent bar association.
The division bench of Justice Vivek Agarwal and Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh, mentioned that registering a parallel entity lacked justification. They emphasized that the objectives of the Advocates Act and the Adhivakta Kalyan Nidhi Adhiniyam of 1982 were already effectively met through the existing bar association.
Led by specific Senior Advocates, the High Court Advocates Bar Association, which splintered from the Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association, boasts a membership of approximately 330 lawyers.
The State Bar Council rejected its recognition application in 2018, citing the principle that only one Bar Association can be recognized.
The bar body then approached the High Court.
At the outset, the Court highlighted that the Advocates Act was formulated to achieve the integration of the Bar into a unified class of legal practitioners, identified as advocates.
The Court further emphasized that the sole division intended was to categorize advocates into two classes based on merit: senior advocates and other advocates.
"The purpose of a Bar Association mainly revolves with an object to seek implementation of the welfare schemes for the advocates," it said further.
In this context, the Court pointed out that the approximately 330 members of the petitioner association already receive benefits from welfare schemes. This is because they hold memberships in either the High Court Bar Association or district Bar Association, both of which are recognized by the Bar Council. Therefore, the Court concluded that the decision of the State Bar Council lacked any illegality, irrationality, or procedural impropriety.
Senior Advocates Anil Khare, Manoj Sharma and Sanjay Agrawal with Advocates KN Fakhruddin, Rajmani Mishra Abhishek Gulatee and Manoj Kumar Rajak represented the High Court Advocates Bar Association.
Advocate Udyan TiwariI represented the Bar Council of India.
Advocate Vipin Yadav represented State Bar Council.
Advocate Sanjay Verma represented Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association.
Advocate Ravindra Gupta represented Democratic Lawyers Forum.
Case Title: High Court Advocates Bar Association vs Bar Council Of India
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