Aditi Dhopesh –
Published On: November 1, 2021 at 17:12 IST.
On 1st November 2021, Karnataka High Court relaxed certain Bye-Laws of the Advocates Association of Bengaluru to avoid delays in conducting elections.
A 7-member High Power Committee (HPC) was appointed by the Court on October 4th to conduct the elections. The HPC moved an application to the High Court stating that Bye-Laws 33 (d) and 33 (f) of the Memorandum and certain provisions of the Bye-Laws of the Association prescribe a timeline within which elections need to be conducted. The HPC also observed that it would be impossible to conduct elections within the given time if they were to adhere to the timeline prescribed in the Bye-laws.
Agreeing with the HPC, the Bench led by Justice Krishna S Dixit stated that the relaxation of the Bye-Laws is necessary for the elections to be conducted on time.
“The rigor of the Bye-Laws needs to be relaxed for the very same reason so that the elections can be conducted within the period prescribed by this Court”, stated Justice Krishna S Dixit
The Court also stated that the Order was passed keeping in mind respect for the Elected Representatives of the Association. This was done as the Elected Representatives can not ordinarily continue in office after the end of their tenure, which was supposed to end in January 2021 this time. Fresh Elections for Representatives of the Association could not be conducted due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Additionally, the Court stated that it is high time to restrict voting rights only to the practitioners of law in Bengaluru Courts or to the Advocates ordinarily residing within the jurisdictional limits of Bruhat Bengaluru Maha Palike & Bengaluru Development Authority.
It will be ensured that the elections are conducted by December 22nd, 2021.
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