These observations were made by the bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana, while hearing a batch of petitions relating to elections to the Bar Council of India (BCI) and State Bar Councils.
“Bar Councils have become men’s clubs. We may observe that people take it like a monopoly. This has to be completely dismantled,” the CJI remarked during the hearing, as reported by ANI.Of the two women to be co-opted in every Bar Council, one will have to be a former judge of the High Court and the other a senior woman advocate of fair standing at the Bar.
The co-opted members should be persons who have nothing to do with the election process so that they function as independent and neutral members, the Court clarified.”As far as co-option is concerned…10% we always had in mind. There should be co-option of those who don’t have anything to do with elections,” the Court observed.
An unsuccessful woman candidate in a State Bar Council election would not be disqualified from being considered for co-option, the Court further clarified.The bench referred the matter of determining transferable votes, particularly for women candidates, to the High-Powered Supervisory Committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia.
The Committee has been asked to reconsider the methodology after inviting suggestions from members of the Bar and granting them an opportunity of oral hearing.The High-Powered Supervisory Committee under Justice Dhulia had been constituted by the SC to oversee elections to the Bar Council of India and State Bar Councils across the country and to resolve election-related disputes.
The matter relates to the implementation of the reservation framework for women in State Bar Councils. Under the existing scheme, women are to have 30% representation, with 20% of the seats filled through direct elections and the remaining 10% through co-option.