BAR COUNCIL OF DELHI Vs. SURJEET SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These three appeals by the Bar Council of Delhi and the Bar Council of India are from the common judgment of the Delhi High Court allowing three writ petitions filed by the first respondent in each appeal and others seeking the setting aside of the election of the Bar Council of Delhi held in the year 1978. As the points involved in them are identical they are all being disposed of by this common judgment. We shall proceed to state the facts from the records of Civil Appeal No. 2224 of 1979 in which respondent No.1 is Shri Surjeet Singh Bhangul. He was a voter as also a candidate for the election wherein he lost. In the writ petition giving rise to Civil Appeal 2225 of 1979 there were three petitioners- two were candidates but Shri D. R. Thakur was an Advocate whose name was not included in the electoral roll although his name occurs in the State roll of Advocates Shri A. S.Randhawa, respondent No.1 in Civil Appeal 2226 of 1979 was a person whose name occurred both in the State roll of Advocates as also in the electoral roll. But he was not a candidate.

(2.) Surjeet Singh was an Advocate who was a member of the Delhi Bar Council before the impugned election. A proviso was added to R. 3 (j) of the Bar Council of Delhi Election Rules, 1968, in the year 1978. In accordance with that proviso a copy of the declaration from was sent on 14th June, 1978 to the Advocates whose names found place in the State roll of Advocates asking them to return the declaration form duly filled up and signed within the specified period. A publication to this effect was also made in some newspapers viz. Hindustan Times, Indian Express, Statesman etc. The last extended date for the submission of the declaration forms was 14th Sept., 1978 and the electoral roll was finally published on the 16th Sept., 1978 excluding the names of about 2,000 Advocates who had failed to submit such declaration forms. On the basis of the electoral roll so prepared, according to the programme of election, the election of member to the Bar Council of Delhi was held on the 17th Nov., 1978. The total number of Advocates on the Advocates roll was 5,000 and odd out of which the names of about 3,000 and odd only were included in the electoral roll in accordance with the proviso to R. 3 (j) of the Election Rules of the Bar Council of Delhi, the results of the election were declared on the 19th November, 1978. The names of the 15 persons who were declared elected were published in the Gazette on the 22nd Nov., 1978. Thereafter on the 24th of Jan., 1979 the writ petition was filed in the High Court challenging the whole election by attacking the validity of the proviso to R. 3 (j).

(3.) Apart from the successful candidates the writ petitions were mainly and vigorously contested by the two Bar Councils, namely, the Bar Council of Delhi and the Bar Council of India. The latter seems to have taken keen interest in the matter of contesting the writ petitions because the impugned proviso to R. 3 (j) was introduced in the Election Rules with the approval of the Bar Council of India in accordance with the requirement of sub-sec. (3) of S. 15 of the Advocates Act, 1961. The High Court has taken the view :-