Delhi High Court Seeks Appointment Records Of Bar Council Returning Officer In Plea Challenging BCD Election Schedule
The Delhi High Court has sought documents relating to the appointment and tenure of the Returning Officer conducting the upcoming election for the office-bearers of the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD), including its member representative to the Bar Council of India.Justice Saurabh Banerjee passed the order while dealing with a petition filed by lawyer Mehmood Pracha, challenging a notice issued...
The Delhi High Court has sought documents relating to the appointment and tenure of the Returning Officer conducting the upcoming election for the office-bearers of the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD), including its member representative to the Bar Council of India.
Justice Saurabh Banerjee passed the order while dealing with a petition filed by lawyer Mehmood Pracha, challenging a notice issued on September 25, which had scheduled the election for October 10.
Pracha, appearing in person, also sought a direction to the Returning Officer- Senior Advocate Rakesh Munjal, to convene an extraordinary meeting pursuant to a requisition dated September 26, under Rule 54 of the Bar Council of Delhi Rules, 1963.
The Court noted that the principal issue raised in the petition concerned the authority of the Returning Officer, who issued the impugned notice prescribing the election schedule.
In view of this issue, the Court directed the parties to place on record the letter of appointment and all requisite connected documents concerning the Returning Officer's appointment, particularly those relating to the subsistence and period of his tenure.
“As such, learned (senior) counsel for the parties seek, and are granted, a period of two weeks for filing the said Letter of Appointment and/ or all such requisite connected document(s) qua the appointment of the said respondent no.2, specifying the period/ tenure of his appointment…,” the Court said.
It also directed the partied to file a two-page note of submissions, along with duly highlighted judgments setting out the propositions of law relied upon, and any other documents they seek to rely upon, within three days.
Although the Court did not issue notice in the plea as of now, it clarified that Pracha, being an elected member of the Bar Council of Delhi, is entitled to file his nomination in accordance with law.
The matter has been listed for hearing now on October 06.