New Delhi
The Supreme Court on Tuesday scheduled the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections for May 20, 2025, based on the final 2024 voter list. A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh ruled that the post of secretary must be reserved exclusively for women lawyers, in addition to the one-third reservation for women in the executive committee.
The court clarified that lawyers eligible as of February 28 will be included in the voter list for the 2025 SCBA elections. Vote counting will begin after polling ends, with results announced on May 21.
The bench also ordered that a report by former Supreme Court judge L. Nageswara Rao, who was tasked with suggesting reforms to the SCBA bye-laws, be uploaded on the association’s website. While no legal challenge to the report will be allowed, members can submit suggestions.
The court noted that implementing the report’s recommendations for the current election may not be possible, as the SCBA executive committee's term ends on May 19. It assured that future reforms would only be applied after hearing SCBA members’ views.
Justice Kant suggested that going forward, SCBA elections could be considered for scheduling on the same day as elections for high court and district bar associations. Last year, the Supreme Court had, for the first time, directed a one-third reservation for women lawyers, a policy now adopted by several other bar bodies across India.