Today, in a significant development, the Supreme Court issued a directive mandating the enforcement of a minimum 1/3rd women's representation in the Supreme Court Bar Association's positions from now on, including the upcoming elections for 2024-2025.

Additionally, the Court specified that in the forthcoming elections for 2024-25, the position of Treasurer of the SCBA must be designated for a female candidate.

The bench, consisting of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan, ordered that in the upcoming elections for 2024-25, the position of Treasurer of the Supreme Court Bar Association shall be exclusively reserved for women.

The Court mandated that one of the office bearer positions of the SCBA be exclusively reserved for women in rotation. It specified that this rotational reservation will commence with the Treasurer's position for the 2024-25 elections.

The Court instructed that there must be a minimum of one-third women's representation in both the junior executive committee (3 out of 9 members) and the senior executive committee (2 out of 6 members) of the SCBA. The Court ordered that the elections for the 2024-25 term must take place on May 16, 2024. Vote counting will commence on May 18, 2024, with the results being declared on May 19, 2024. It was further noted that the current committee's term expires on May 18, 2024.

The Court mentioned that eight resolutions proposing reforms, including changes to candidate eligibility criteria, adjustments in membership admission fees and candidate deposit fees, as well as reconsideration of the four-term limit for holding an SCBA post, were not approved during the Special General Body meeting on April 30.

The Court noted that the norms, eligibility criteria, fees, and other aspects of the SCBA cannot remain unchanged for extended periods, emphasizing the necessity for timely reforms. Accordingly, the Court directed the executive committee of the SCBA to solicit suggestions from all bar members, including issuing a public notice on its website.

Case Title : Supreme Court Bar Association v. BD Kaushik | Diary No. 13992 of 2023