Supreme Court Directs Madhya Pradesh Bar Council Elections By April 30
LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK
6 Feb 2026 6:53 PM IST
The elections will be monitored by a panel headed by former P&H HC CJ Justice Ravi Shankar Jha.
The Supreme Court has directed that elections to the Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh be conducted by April 30, 2026, noting that the elected body's original term had already expired in October 2025.
A Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant recorded the submission of the Bar Council of India that a six-month extension had been granted to the State Bar Council under Section 8 of the Advocates Act, 1961, to enable the holding of elections. Taking note of this, the Court ordered that the electoral process must be completed within the extended period.
To ensure free and fair elections, the Court directed that the polls be monitored and conducted by a High-Powered Election Committee headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha.
The directions were issued while disposing of interlocutory applications filed in a writ petition concerning Bar Council elections across States. With the clarification and directions issued, the applications relating to Madhya Pradesh were disposed of.
Case : M Varadhan v Union of India WP(c) 1319/2023, order dates 04.02.2026