Former High Court Chief Justice among 6 candidates for SCBA President

Senior Advocate Siddharth Mridul, who earlier served as Chief Justice of Manipur High Court filed his nomination for the post of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President on Thursday.

Launching his campaign with the slogan, “No promises, only work,” Mridul filed his nomination ahead of the SCBA elections, which are scheduled to be held later this month under the existing electoral rules. 

Mridul was designated as a Senior Advocate in 2006 and also served as Standing Counsel and Senior Panel Counsel for the Union government. Earlier in his career, he was elected twice to the Bar Council of Delhi, where he served as Honorary Secretary and later as Vice-Chairman. 

He was later appointed as judge of the Delhi high Court and went on to serve as the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court.

After retirement as a judge, he returned to law practice.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court appointed him to chair a High-Powered Election Committee overseeing elections to certain State Bar Councils. 

Apart from Mridul, several other prominent members of the Bar have also filed their nominations for the post of SCBA President.

Senior Advocate Anupam Lal Das has entered the fray with his nomination being proposed by Senior Advocates Shekhar Naphade and Ratnakar Dash.

Senior Advocate and Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia has also filed his nomination for the post. He is backed by Senior Advocates KK Venugopal, Rakesh Dwivedi, and Ranjit Kumar.

Bhatia had earlier served as the secretary of SCBA.

Senior Advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani has also entered the fray for the post.

Senior Advocate Sukumar Pattjoshi is another contender seeking to lead the Association.

Senior Advocate Adish Aggarwala has also announced his candidature for the presidency.

Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai too has entered the presidential race.

The upcoming SCBA election assumes significance as it follows months of litigation over electoral reforms and the conduct of the bar elections.

Last month, the Supreme Court decided that proposed reforms, including changes to voter eligibility and tenure of office-bearers, would be deferred until the 2027-28 election cycle. As a result, the 2026 election will be conducted under the existing framework. 

The Supreme Court has also directed that the election process be completed within the schedule notified by the election committee, with the newly elected office-bearers expected to assume charge thereafter.