Bar Council of Kerala Elections on April 17; 30% Seats Reserved for Women

CT Team 3 min read February 17, 2026 at 1:20 pm

The elections to the Bar Council of Kerala will take place on April 17, 2026, from 10 AM to 5 PM at various polling booths across the State.

The announcement was made through a notification issued by a High-Powered Election Committee appointed by the Supreme Court of India to supervise Bar Council elections.

23 Seats to Be Filled, 30% Reserved for Women

As per the election notification dated February 13, 2026, voting will be held for 23 seats. A mandatory 30 per cent reservation for women has been introduced in line with interim directions of the Supreme Court.

The distribution of seats is as follows:

12 seats for advocates with at least 10 years of practice on the State Roll
6 seats for other advocates
5 seats reserved for women candidates

The total strength of the Bar Council will remain 25 members. While 23 members will be elected, two members will be co-opted by the Bar Council of India.

Importantly, there will be a single common ballot paper. There will not be a separate ballot for women candidates.

Key Dates for the Election Process

The election process will begin with the publication of a provisional voters’ list on February 28, 2026. Advocates can submit corrections or objections until March 7. The final voters’ list will be released on March 14.

Nomination forms will be available from March 14 to March 16, and March 23 is the last date to file nominations. After scrutiny and withdrawals, the final list of candidates will be published on March 26. Counting of votes will start on April 18.

Candidates contesting the election must pay a non-refundable nomination fee of ₹1.25 lakh. This requirement was confirmed by the Supreme Court in Bar Council of India v Prahlad Sharma & Ors.

Supervision by Court-Appointed Panel

The elections are being conducted under the supervision of a High-Powered Election Committee constituted pursuant to the Supreme Court’s order in M Vardhan v Union of India & Anr.

The committee includes:

Retired Justice Rajiv Shakder
Senior Advocate E Om Prakash
Advocate Dr Amit George

All election-related complaints must be addressed to this committee via email.

Appeals against the committee’s decisions can be made before a High-Powered Election Supervisory Committee led by former judges Justice Subhanshu Dhulia and Justice Ravi Shanker Jha, along with senior counsel V Giri.

Former Kerala High Court judge Justice VG Arun has been appointed as the Returning Officer to oversee the process.

Revised Voters’ List Issued

In a separate notification, the committee has released a revised preliminary voters’ list. Advocates have been asked to submit corrections, additions or requests for change of polling booth through designated online forms by February 26, 2026.

Bar Associations have also been directed to verify the list and report names of deceased advocates or those who have stopped practising. This step aims to ensure that the electoral roll remains accurate and updated.