Madras High Court Advocates' Association election postponed after booth capture, violence; HC asks lawyers to file petition

Following allegations of booth capturing and an episode of violence within the Madras High Court premises, the Madras High Court Advocates' Association (MHAA) elections have been called off..Bar Council of India Vice-Chairperson S Prabhakaran and a group of other lawyers led by Advocate NGR Prasad approached the Bench of Acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy this afternoon, seeking an urgent hearing on the incident. Prabhakaran urged the Court to appoint a retired High Court judge to conduct the MHAA elections afresh..The Court, however, asked Prabhakaran to file a petition first, if he wanted it to intervene in the matter. It said that the lawyers must let the matter "reach the court first for it to hear it." .The Teller Committee constituted to conduct the elections had identified around 4,750 eligible voters. The election was scheduled to be conducted between 10 am and 5 pm on Monday at the new auditorium inside the Madras High Court campus and the results were to be announced by the end of the day..On Monday morning, MHAA Teller Committee Chairperson and Senior Advocate MK Kabir said that the Committee would raise the issue before the Acting Chief Justice and urge the Court to decide on a new date and venue for the elections. "As of now, the elections stand postponed. There was chaos inside the election venue. This unruly behaviour by certain elements appears to be a deliberate attempt to create trouble and get the elections postponed. It is unfortunate that even booth capturing has taken place due to the introduction of QR codes. We regret it. Elections will stand postponed. We will inform this to the honourable Acting Chief Justice," Kabir said..In October 2022, a Bench of Justices R Mahadevan and Mohammed Shaffiq had directed the MHAA to conduct elections within 90 days, in light of the fact that new officers bearers were not selected since 2018..[Watch Video].(Video credits: Sekar Reporter court news).Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.