Plea In Supreme Court Challenges Exclusion Of New AORs From SCAORA Voter List For April 29 Election

A writ petition has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the exclusion of newly registered Advocates-on-Record from the voter list for the upcoming Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association elections scheduled to be held on April 29, 2026.

“The exclusion of Petitioner and other similarly situated newly registered Advocates-on-Record persists despite the fact that Petitioner and similarly situated Advocates-on-Record fully satisfies the eligibility criteria prescribed under sub-rule (ii) of Rule 5, Order IV of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013. Denying the Petitioner the right to vote in the upcoming SCAORA elections due to the non-allotment of AOR code, an administrative formality beyond our control, results in arbitrary treatment among other Members of SCAORA”, the plea states.

The petition has been filed by newly registered Advocate-on-Record Ritu Rajkumari, who has sought a direction to include her name and those of similarly placed Advocates-on-Record in the voter list for the upcoming SCAORA elections. The petitioner has also sought a declaration that the non-inclusion of newly registered Advocates-on-Record in the voter list, despite fulfilling all eligibility criteria under the SCAORA Rules and Regulations, is arbitrary.

The Election Committee of SCAORA issued an election notice on April 8, 2026, notifying the schedule for elections to the office bearers and executive committee for the term 2026–2028. The notice fixed April 14, 2026 as the last date for new membership eligibility and clearance of dues by existing members.

The petitioner states that she submitted her membership form on April 13, 2026 along with payment of Rs. 3000 towards membership and Rs. 500 towards subscription, for which a receipt was issued on the same date. Several other newly registered Advocates-on-Record similarly submitted their forms and made payments before April 14, 2026, the plea states.

As per the petition, on April 15, 2026, the Election Committee decided not to extend the deadline or grant membership to those who did not have an Advocate-on-Record code as on April 14, 2026. On the same day, a 94-page voter list containing 2058 names was published, which did not include newly registered Advocates-on-Record.

On April 16, 2026, the Supreme Court allowed applications for registration of 205 Advocates-on-Record, thereby granting them Advocate-on-Record status.

On April 17, 2026, the Election Committee issued another notice extending the deadline for existing members to clear dues till April 18, 2026 at 5 PM. However, this extension was not made applicable to newly registered Advocates-on-Record, the plea states.

The plea states that the petitioner and other newly registered Advocates-on-Record submitted a detailed representation on April 17, 2026 through email and WhatsApp to the Election Committee seeking inclusion in the voter list. However, no response has been received to this representation.

On April 20, 2026, a supplementary voter list titled “subscription received till 5:00 PM on 18-04-2026” was released, adding 201 members. The petition states that even this list excluded newly registered Advocates-on-Record who had paid their membership dues and subscription before April 14, 2026.

The petitioner contends that the exclusion of newly registered Advocates-on-Record from the voter list on the ground of non-allotment of Advocate-on-Record codes is arbitrary and amounts to unequal treatment. It is argued that under the SCAORA Rules and Regulations, membership is not denied for want of an AOR code and only requires that a person be an Advocate-on-Record and a member of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

The petition also contends that permitting existing members to clear dues till April 18, 2026 while denying similar opportunity to newly registered Advocates-on-Record creates an arbitrary classification among members.

“exclusion of the newly registered Advocates-on Records from the voter list of SCAORA Elections while allowing existing members to pay and clear their dues till 18th April, 2026 (5 PM) while not allowing the same to newly registered Advocates-on Records with AOR codes creates an arbitrary class within members of SCORA and Advocates-on-Records”, the plea states.

It states that this results in denial of the right to vote to those who had otherwise fulfilled all eligibility requirements and had paid their dues within time.

“For all intents and purposes, the newly registered AORs are Advocate-on Record as of 16th April, 2026 whereas the date of payment has already been extended till 18th April for existing members, the same is not extended to newly registered Advocate-on-Records. Thus, a denial in the inclusion of the voter list in the upcoming SCAORA election is unfair, arbitrary and against the principles of equality”, the plea contends.

The petitioner has sought directions to the Election Committee to include newly registered Advocates-on-Record in the voter list for the upcoming elections and a declaration that their exclusion is arbitrary and illegal.

The petition has been filed through Advocate on Record Vishakha.

Case no. – W.P.(C) No. 549 / 2026

Case Title – Ritu Rajkumari v. Election Committee