State Bar Council can't compel Bar Association to grant or refuse membership: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court recently observed that the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh or its functionaries is not duty bound, nor does it have the power, to compel any Bar Association to grant or deny membership to an advocate. [Onkar Bajpai And Another vs The U.P. Bar Council And 2 Others].The Court made the observation while dismissing a petition filed by two advocates.The advocates had urged the Court to direct the Kanpur Bar Association to comply with an order passed by the Bar Council’s Vice-Chairman for addition of their names to the Association's electoral list..The division bench of Justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Rajendra Kumar-IV observed that the writ Court was neither the executing court of the Bar Council.The judges added that there was no statutory duty cast on the Bar Council to issue any direction to an independent Bar Association to revive or renew the registration or membership of any individual."The powers being referred to by learned counsel for the petitioners are clearly not powers vested in the Bar Council or its functionaries to compel any Bar Association to grant or refuse to grant membership by any Bar Association," the order stated. .The counsel representing the petitioners had argued that Section 6(1)(d) of the Advocates Act, 1961 authorised the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh to pass appropriate orders to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates.However, the Court said that these powers are only with respect to protecting the interests, rights and privileges of advocates generally, as a body of individuals, and not on the individual rights of advocates. "In the context of individual rights claimed by the petitioners to be revived as a member of Kanpur Bar Association, we find no jurisdiction existing with the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh to issue any binding direction to the Bar Association to grant such membership," the Court concluded. .It, accordingly, held that the Bar Council Vice Chairman’s direction with regard to the membership of the two advocates was only in the nature of information or an opinion.. The issue may be considered by the Kanpur Bar Association on its own merits, the Court added..Advocate Saurabh Srivastava represented the petitioners. Advocate Ashok Kumar Tiwari appeared for the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh. Advocate Vishnu Prakash Srivastava also represented one of the respondents. .[Read Order]