The Supreme Court permitted the results of the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) elections to be declared, while making it clear that the results will remain subject to the outcome of election disputes pending before Election Tribunals.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana referred all disputes concerning the BCD elections to the Election Tribunals, including tribunals constituted pursuant to the Court’s directions.
The Bench noted that election disputes involving other State Bar Councils had already been relegated to tribunals headed by former Supreme Court judges and found no reason to adopt a different approach in the case of the BCD.
The Court allowed aggrieved persons to approach the appropriate Election Tribunals and directed the tribunals to hear the matters expeditiously, noting that uncertainty surrounding Bar Council elections should end at the earliest. The Court expressed the hope that the proceedings would be concluded within three months.
The BCD was directed to preserve the entire election record, including original video footage, and produce it before the concerned tribunals. Delhi Police was similarly directed to preserve the original CCTV footage and provide copies to the concerned parties.
The Court had been hearing challenges arising from allegations of ballot tampering during the BCD election counting process. The Delhi High Court had earlier declined to order a re-poll despite the discovery of alleged tampering.
The Supreme Court had previously stayed the declaration of the election results. In June, it permitted the counting of votes to be completed but directed that the results could not be notified without its permission.
The controversy also involved counting staff member Nikhil Kumar, who was arrested after allegedly being caught altering voter preferences on ballot papers.
The Court had earlier taken serious note of allegations concerning irregularities and tampering, with CJI Surya Kant making it clear that any compromise with the fairness of the electoral process would not be ignored.
With Friday’s order, the results can now be declared, but their validity will remain subject to the decisions of the Election Tribunals.
The post Supreme Court allows declaration of Delhi Bar Council election results subject to Election Tribunal outcome appeared first on India Legal.