Allahabad High Court Orders 30% Women's Reservation In Oudh Bar Association; President's Post Reserved From 2028 On Rotation Basis
The Allahabad High Court on Friday directed that 30% of the posts in the Governing/Executive Council of the Oudh Bar Association, High Court, Lucknow, be reserved for women.
The High Court has also laid down a post-wise reservation and rotation schedule, with the President's post to be reserved for women from 2028 onwards every 3 years.
A bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla passed the directions while dealing with two PIL pleas concerning reservation for women advocates in the Oudh Bar Association.
The Court held that the directions issued by the Supreme Court under Article 142 of the Constitution requiring 30% representation for women in Bar Associations are binding on all Bar Associations.
Case in brief
The Court was dealing with PIL pleas filed by Divya Tripathi and Mithlesh Srivastava, seeking implementation of the Supreme Court's directions on 30% representation of women advocates in the Executive Committee and Governing Council of the Oudh Bar Association, including the reservation of senior posts.
Srivastava's PIL plea also sought 1/3rd reservation for women lawyers in the Executive Committee and Governing Council as well as reservation of the Treasurer's post and rotation of the posts of President, General Secretary and Senior Vice President.
During the hearing, the bench was apprised of the decision taken by the Oudh Bar's Annual General Meeting held on July 29, 2026, to reserve 1 post of Treasurer, 3 of 6 Junior Executive posts, and 3 of 6 Senior Executive Body posts for women.
However, the Bench found that this decision did not ensure adequate representation of women and was not in tune with the “letter and spirit” of the Supreme Court's orders.
The bench interacted with the outgoing Members of the Bar Association, who expressed their reservations regarding the reservation of posts for women higher than Treasurer. The bench, however, noted that they could not give any reason as to why the women candidates should be deprived of higher posts.
In fact, several Senior Members of the Bar, such as Anil Tewari, Dr. L.P. Misra, etc., urged the Bench that adequate representation can be provided to women on various posts in the Governing/Executive Council of the Oudh Bar Association.
However, they submitted that the posts of President and General Secretary should not be reserved for election this year, i.e., 2026; instead, they can be considered for reservation for the next year and onwards.
They also advocated that, out of the 4 Vice President posts, some be reserved for women candidates.
High Court's operative directions
Against this backdrop, the Court noted that the Oudh Bar Association's Governing/Executive Council comprises 22 office-bearers, including the President, Senior Vice President, Vice Presidents, General Secretary, Treasurer, Joint Secretaries and ordinary Governing Council members.
Therefore, the bench opined that out of a total of 22 office bearers of the Governing/Executive Council, at least 7 should be reserved for women so as to give effect to the 30% reservation mandated by the Supreme Court.
Consequently, the Court prescribed a post-wise reservation and rotation system. The schedule laid down by the High Court is as follows:
• 2 of 6 Junior Executive posts will be reserved for women from the 2026 elections and it shall continue accordingly in the succeeding years.
• 2 of 6 Senior Executive posts will be reserved for women from the 2026 elections and it shall continue accordingly in the succeeding years.
• 1 of 3 Joint Secretary posts will be reserved for women from 2026 and thereafter.
• The post of Treasurer shall be reserved for women in the ensuing elections of 2026, as already reserved by the Annual General Body, and this post shall again be reserved for women in 2029, thereafter in 2032, and so on and so forth, accordingly, by rotation.
• The General Secretary's post will be reserved for women in 2027; thereafter, it shall again be reserved for women in the year 2030, and then in 2033, and shall continue to be reserved so on and so forth, accordingly, by rotation.
• One Vice President post for members with below 10 years' practice will be reserved for women in 2028, then 2031 and 2034 and thereafter, shall continue to be reserved so on and so forth, accordingly, by rotation.
• One of the two Vice President posts requiring 10 years' practice will be reserved for women in 2027, then 2030 and 2033 and so on and so forth, accordingly, by rotation.
• The Senior Vice President's post, requiring 20 years of regular and active practice, will be reserved for women in 2026, then 2029 and 2032 and shall be continue to be reserved accordingly, by rotation.
• The post of President shall be reserved for women in the elections to be held in the year 2028 and thereafter, it shall again be reserved for women candidate in the year 2031 and then in the year 2034 and shall continue to be reserved, accordingly, by rotation.
The Court said it had applied the rotation system to posts numbered less than 3 to ensure adequate representation of women candidates.
The Court also provided for a situation in which a reserved post cannot be filled due to the unavailability of a woman candidate.
In such a situation, the post will have to be filled by nomination of a woman candidate by the Senior Judge of the Allahabad High Court at Lucknow, in accordance with the Supreme Court's directions.
The Bench further directed that its reservation directions “shall be read into the existing Bye-laws of the Oudh Bar Association and shall be implemented accordingly.”
In another significant direction, the High Court ordered that candidates contesting elections to the Oudh Bar Association must disclose details of any FIR or criminal case lodged or filed against them in their nomination forms.
The candidate must also provide remarks or an explanation and disclose whether the proceedings have resulted in acquittal or conviction or are pending.
The Court directed that any concealment or misrepresentation concerning these disclosures could result in cancellation of the candidature or election. The information must also be made available to the electors of the Oudh Bar Association.
The Court ultimately disposed of both PILs in these terms.
Case title - Divya Tripathi @ Divya Mishra vs The Bar Council of Uttar Paradesh and others Thru. its Secy. Lko. and 2 others and a connected matter 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 585
Case Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 585