In a recent development, the Supreme Court has indicated that it may cancel the 2025 Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections if it finds the allegations of irregularities to be true. The case was raised before a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh by Senior Advocate Dr. Adish Aggarwala.
Aggarwala, a former SCBA President and a candidate in the recent elections, mentioned the matter in connection with the ongoing SCBA v. B.D. Kaushik case, where issues concerning reforms in the SCBA are already under scrutiny by Justices Kant and K.V. Viswanathan.
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“If we are satisfied, we will set aside the election,”
– Justice Surya Kant
Justice Kant advised Aggarwala to wait for the composition of the Special Bench that includes Justice Viswanathan. He added, “Wait for special bench… find out when J. Viswanathan is sitting, I will sit in that week. There is no question of listing today. Heavens won’t fall.”
On the previous day, the same bench had stated that any member of the Bar with complaints regarding election irregularities could approach the Court, provided they submit valid evidence. The Court also directed preservation of CCTV footage related to the election and said it would examine serious allegations like voter impersonation, if proven.
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Aggarwala’s application pointed to a significant mismatch in vote numbers. He claimed that although only 2,588 voting slips were issued, the total votes (including invalid ones) tallied up to 2,651 — indicating an excess of 200 votes.
“This clearly indicates that 200 excess votes were found in the ballot boxes as compared to the 2588 slips issued to voters,”
– From Aggarwala's plea
He alleged not just discrepancies but “fraudulent acts” by certain candidates. One of the major concerns raised was about Senior Advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani, a member of the Election Committee, who allegedly supported and campaigned for President-elect Senior Advocate Vikas Singh. According to the plea, she had openly told voters:
“This is the fourth and last term of Mr. Vikas Singh, so vote for him. Next time, I will contest for the post of President and Mr. Vikas Singh will support me.”
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Aggarwala also accused the Election Committee of announcing the results in collaboration with Vikas Singh and former SCBA President Kapil Sibal, despite many votes allegedly being left uncounted.
Another serious charge was about a letter from Vikas Singh sent to voters on the evening of May 19 and 20, 2025, asking for votes, which allegedly violated the model code of conduct. Aggarwala claimed that even after a complaint was lodged, the Election Committee took no action.
His application seeks:
- Cancellation of the election result for the President's post
- A judicial inquiry by a Court-appointed committee
- Preservation of all election-related material
The application was drawn by Advocates Vipin Kumar Bharti, Suraj Pathak, and Ritesh Singh, and filed through AoR Kuldeep Jauhari.
Another plea was filed by two additional SCBA members who argued that the Election Committee did not follow the Court's guidelines. They claimed that:
- The voters’ list was still being updated even after the nomination deadline.
- A new list was not prepared based on 60 proximity card entries for 2024.
- The 2023 list, which included 500 new voters based on only 30 entries, was not verified for 2024.
They further alleged that bogus votes were cast and non-advocates were involved in the election process. According to them, the Committee failed to allow verification of voters and did not publish a voter list with photographs, making identity checks impossible.
Their demands include:
- Setting aside the SCBA elections
- Holding fresh elections
- Creating a new committee including the Court Registrar and an independent member to verify the election process
“The Election Committee deliberately did not publish the voter list with photographs, making it unable for the officers of the election committee to match the voters with the list,”
– From the second application
The Supreme Court is expected to address these serious concerns once the Special Bench hears the matter in detail.
Case Title: Supreme Court Bar Association v. BD Kaushik, Diary No. 13992/2023
