Supreme Court Directs SCBA Elections on May 20; Reserves Key Posts for Women
Kiran Raj
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that elections for the office bearers of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) will be conducted on May 20, 2025. The polls will proceed using the voter list finalized for the 2024 elections, while also including members who became eligible up to February 28, 2025.
In a move to promote gender representation, the Court mandated that the post of Secretary for the upcoming election be exclusively reserved for women candidates. Additionally, one-third of the Executive Committee seats — specifically, three out of nine — will also be set aside for women.
A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice KV Viswanathan passed the directives while also addressing the future of reforms within the SCBA. The Court instructed that the report prepared by Justice (Retired) L. Nageswara Rao, which suggests changes to the SCBA bye-laws and election rules, be uploaded on the Association’s website. While challenges to the report will not be entertained, members may submit suggestions.
The bench clarified that implementing the recommendations from Justice Rao’s report in the upcoming election would not be feasible without first hearing the Bar's views. However, the Court emphasized that the report will not be sidelined.
“We have received Justice Rao’s report with recommendations for reforms. We won’t implement it mechanically without discussions — it is ultimately your matter. But we will not allow your Association to ignore it,” Justice Kant remarked during the hearing. When Senior Advocate Dr. Adish Aggarwala suggested sending the report to the Association, Justice Kant responded firmly, underscoring the need to respect the report and promising to make the final decision after hearing all stakeholders.
The bench also suggested aligning future SCBA elections with those held at High Courts and District Courts to streamline the process.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta urged the Court to reserve the Secretary post for women, continuing the rotation from the previously reserved Treasurer position. The bench accepted the proposal. Gupta was representing Advocate Yogamaya MG, whose application was filed through Advocate-on-Record Sriram Parakkat.
Notably, the Supreme Court had last year directed the implementation of one-third reservation for women in SCBA posts, marking a significant step towards ensuring gender diversity in the Bar’s leadership.
Case Title: Supreme Court Bar Association v. B.D. Kaushik
Case Number: I.A. No. 94918/2025 and I.A. No. 94919/2025 in Miscellaneous Application Diary No. 13992/2023 in Civil Appeal Nos. 3401-3402/2003
Bench: Justice Surya Kant, Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh
