Plea filed before Kerala High Court alleging irregularities in Kollam Bar Association polls

The Kerala High Court recently sought the response of the Bar Council of Kerala and the Kollam Bar Association on a plea filed by advocate Dheeraj Ravi challenging his recent defeat in the elections to the Kollam Bar Association's Board of Directors [Dheeraj Ravi v Bar Council of Kerala & ors].

Justice N Nagaresh issued notice to the respondents via messenger and posted the matter for hearing next on August 8.

The petitioner, Ravi, a former President of the Kollam Bar Association and a candidate in the 2025 elections, had lost by one vote after a disputed recount.

He moved the Court alleging serious procedural irregularities and violations of electoral norms in the July 2025 Kollam Bar Association elections.

According to the petition, Ravi initially tied with his opponent during the first count of votes. However, during the subsequent recount, a clearly valid vote cast in Ravi's favour was declared invalid, ultimately leading to his defeat by a single vote.

He stated that despite a tie during the initial vote count, the recount was conducted without the returning officer's personal supervision, in violation of basic standards of fairness and transparency.

The petitioner alleged that the ballots were handed over to volunteers for recounting without any supervision and the final tabulation sheet was reused and overwritten, compromising the reliability of the result.

"The recounting was vitiated to the extent that the tabulation sheet was reused and it was overwritten. The same was not done by the Returning Officer, but another advocate of the bar association. This vitiated the transparency and sanctity of the recounting process. This is outright violation of basic election norms.", the petition added.

The petitioner highlighted multiple irregularities before and during the polling, which included, absence of a signed voter register, failure to verify identities of voters, and the presence of unauthorised individuals casting votes and accused the outgoing office bearers of the association, including the then president and secretary of the association interfering with the polling and counting process.

The petition alleged that they actively campaigned for a panel of handpicked candidates, circulated promotional materials and remained physically present inside the polling station and counting hall, influencing polling officials known to them.

The very returning officer who conducted the election and oversaw the recount was later appointed as Convenor of the Grievance Committee tasked with addressing election related complaints, it was submitted.

This was a clear conflict of interest as the officer now held the power to adjudicate disputes arising from an election he himself had conducted, the petitioner contended.

The petitioner also recounted an incident of physical assault during the recount, where his polling agent was manhandled in the presence of the returning officer.

In light of these allegations, the petitioner has urged the Court to quash the election results for his constituency and to direct a fresh poll under court monitored conditions. He also requested the appointment of an Advocate Commissioner to supervise a fresh poll or conduct a proper recount after taking custody of all election materials.

The petition was filed through advocates Akhil Suresh, Kalliyani Krishna B, Amrith MJ, Anita Elizebeth Babu and Rahul T.