Aastha Thakur
Published on: 17 October 2022 at 23:14 IST
The Madras High Court ordered the Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA) to hold “free and fair” elections as soon as possible to select its office bearers. [K Sathyabal Review Applicant vs The Chairman & Members Election Committee].
The MHAA was ordered to constitute a “Teller Committee” by a bench of Justices R Mahadevan and Mohammed Shaffiq, and this committee was mandated to hold the elections that had not been held in the previous four years within 90 days.
“The verification of the electoral role, payment of subscription and eligibility of the list of members to vote, shall be made within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, if not already verified and the publication of the list of eligible members shall be completed within four weeks”
“Thereafter, followed by election notification, date of nomination, etc. However, the election shall be completed within a period of 90 days i.e., on or before January 12, 2023 and the result be declared accordingly,” the Court ordered.
The High Court was considering a review petition filed by counsel K Sathyabal in opposition to an order that another division bench of the High Court issued in August 2019 setting strict eligibility requirements for the MHAA elections.
A petition submitted by Sathyabal led to the passing of the 2019 order as well. Sathyabal has brought up charges of misbehaviour and corruption among MHAA office holders in that plea.
He contested the order, arguing that the Court had overstepped its bounds by establishing qualification standards given that the MHAA has a general body and its own by-laws that govern elections, membership, and other matters.
The bench headed by Justice Mahadevan ruled that even if the High Court had strayed from the topic at hand in its 2019 order, the MHAA must nonetheless take the order as advise and put its recommendations into practise.
The Court observed that the conduct of the elections for choosing the MHAA office bearers, which had been delayed since 2018, was currently the most crucial issue. The High Court said:
“We are of the considered opinion that the conduct of the election is the need of the hour, which has been delayed unnecessarily for nearly four years. The election obviously has to be conducted with the existing bye-laws in a transparent and fair manner.”
“The Teller committee shall conduct election at the earliest by following the existing Bye-laws of the MHAA scrupulously in accordance,”
The Court told the bar members that the,“object of becoming an office bearer was to serve the fraternity and not to utilize it for personal benefit.”
