Supreme Court Sets New Schedule for State Bar Council Elections, Forms Monitoring Panels
The Supreme Court in M. Varadhan v. Union Of India & Anr has announced a revised time schedule for State Bar Council elections across 16 States and Union Territories. The elections will now take place in five phases between 31 January 2026 and 30 April 2026.
To ensure smooth conduct of these elections, the Court has also set up High Powered Election Monitoring Committees (HPEMCs) for different regions and formed a High Powered Supervisory Committee at the national level. This top committee will be headed by a former Supreme Court judge, along with a former Chief Justice of a High Court and a senior advocate who does not contest Bar Council elections. The Court will notify the members in its official order.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh passed the directions.
The Court also allowed advocates whose degree verification is still pending to vote provisionally, but clarified that their votes will be subject to “necessary consequences” depending on the final verification results.
Revised Election Phases
Under the freshly approved schedule:
Phase 1 – By 31 January 2026:
- Uttar Pradesh
- Telangana
Phase 2 – By 28 February 2026:
- Andhra Pradesh
- Delhi
- Tripura
Phase 3 – By 15 March 2026:
- Rajasthan
- Punjab & Haryana
- Jharkhand
- West Bengal
- Karnataka
- Gujarat
Phase 4 – By 31 March 2026:
- Meghalaya
- Manipur
- Maharashtra
Phase 5 – By 30 April 2026:
- Kerala
- Tamil Nadu & Puducherry
- Himachal Pradesh
- Assam
The Court made it clear that no further extension will be given to any State Bar Council.
Degree Verification Concerns
The Bench addressed the ongoing issue of fake law degrees within the legal profession. The Court noted that verification of degrees cannot be used as a reason to delay elections any further. It emphasised that all State Bar Councils are duty-bound to verify the genuineness of law degrees submitted by advocates. The Court remarked that fake degree holders have been wrongly posing as lawyers and even participating in violence, which makes the verification process essential.
To speed up verification, the Court directed all universities to create a special team, including a senior faculty member from the law department, to complete verification within one week of receiving the request. Universities may charge a verification fee only as per existing rules.
Advocates who have applied for verification must be allowed to vote, but if their degree is later found to be fake, they will be barred from participating in the election process.
Timeline for States in Phase 1 (by 31 January 2026)
For States required to conduct elections in the first phase, the Court issued a detailed schedule:
- Electoral roll preparation: 15 days from 20 November
- Objections: 7 days
- Final voter list: 7 days
- Nomination filing: 7 days
- Scrutiny: 2 days
- Final list of candidates: 1 day
- Withdrawal of nominations: 3 days
- Voting (preferential system): 20 days
Counting will take place under the supervision of HPEMCs. If any State Bar Council has already completed some steps, the Committee may provide exemptions.
The same pattern must be followed by other Monitoring Committees for their respective phases.
If any person is dissatisfied with an order passed by an HPEMC, they may approach the High Powered Supervisory Committee, whose decision will be final. The Supreme Court clarified that no civil court or High Court can interfere with decisions of this Supervisory Committee.
Background of the Case
The issue arises from challenges to Rule 32 of the Bar Council of India Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015, which gives the Bar Council of India the authority to extend the term of State Bar Councils beyond what is allowed under the Advocates Act, 1961. Notice in this matter was issued in 2023.
Senior Advocates Madhavi Divan, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Vibha Datta Makhija, Rakesh Khanna, and Manan Kumar Mishra appeared in the matter.
