BCI opposes plea in Supreme Court seeking reservation for disabled lawyers in bar bodies

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu on a petition filed by a disabled advocate seeking four percent reservation for persons with disabilities in the elections to the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the issue raised went beyond an individual grievance and touched upon questions of inclusivity and institutional responsibility. The Court observed that bodies involved in governance must scrupulously adhere to principles of equality.

Senior Advocate Indira Jaising appeared for the petitioner, assisted by advocates Paras Nath Singh, Vishal Sinha and Paari Vendhan.

“If elections are declared before the next date, my prayer for reservation for the disabled will become infructuous,” she submitted,

Once elections are notified, representation would be lost for five years, she said.

Appearing for the Bar Council of India, its chairman and Senior Advocate Manan Kumar Mishra opposed the plea. He argued that persons with disabilities form a very small fraction of the legal profession.

“Their population is not even 0.1 percent. Out of 15 or 16 seats, if we keep one seat, then there will be no end to this. There is no such reservation even in parliament,” Mishra told the Court.

Responding to this, the Chief Justice said that adopting inclusive measures would only strengthen the Bar Council’s commitment to equality.

Jaising said that the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act clearly mandates inclusion.

She pointed out that transgender persons and women already receive horizontal reservation, while persons with disabilities continue to be excluded.

Mishra submitted that questions of reservation is for parliament to decide and that, given the scale of the profession with nearly 25 lakh lawyers, the Bar Council of India could not unilaterally take such a policy decision.

The Bench, however, underscored the constitutional dimension of the issue.

“This is an issue of paramount importance since it is about inclusivity and humane importance. We are sure the Bar Council of India will come out with something dealing with equality,” the Chief Justice observed.

The Court suggested that the BCI convene a meeting to explore possible solutions, including increasing one or two seats across State Bar Councils, adopting a co-option mechanism, or even starting with a pilot project.

The Bench noted that the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu has not yet announced its election schedule.

When Jaising reiterated that the declaration of elections would effectively shut out representation for five years, the Chief Justice remarked,

“But Article 32 does not go away.”

Advocate Vivek Narayan Sharma, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh State Bar Council, suggested that one member from the disability category could be co-opted.

The Chief Justice said the Court was focusing on the contribution of specially abled lawyers who provide invaluable guidance, referring to senior members of the Bar practising before the Delhi High Court.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also informed the Court that persons with disabilities have been included in the Central government’s legal panels.

“This is how we create an architecture of an equal society,” the Chief Justice said.

The matter will be taken up again on January 5.

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