Elections To All Bars in Odisha Begin Under ‘One Bar, One Vote’ Rule

Cuttack: Election to all 157 bar associations in Odisha began on Saturday under ‘one bar, one vote’ rule in accordance with the directive of the High Court.

The elections are held to form the executive body of the bar associations across the state.

Notably, the Orissa High Court on March 19 this year had directed the State Bar Council to ensure that elections to form executive bodies of all the 167 bars in the state are completed by the end of March on the principle of ‘one bar, one vote’.

The Supreme Court in 2015 had framed the ‘one bar one vote’ rule to identify the number of genuine advocates practising in various courts across the country. Though the rule allows the advocates a multitude of membership of various bars, it gives them only one voting right.

In order to implement the rule, State Bar Council on February 24 had unanimously passed a resolution to hold elections to all the 167 affiliated bar associations across Odisha annually on the last Saturday of March every year. The date of elections this year was fixed on March 30.