Supreme Court fixes phased schedule for State Bar Council elections; all polls to finish by April 30, 2026

The Supreme Court on Tuesday fixed a strict, nationwide timetable for long-pending State Bar Council elections and placed the entire process under the supervision of retired judges after noting that polls in most States had been delayed for years [M Varadhan vs. Union of India & Anr.].

A Bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and NK Singh said that elections in all Bar Councils, except those where the term has not yet expired, must now be completed in a phased manner between January and April 2026.

The Court underscored that no further extension will be permitted.

The Bench recorded that elections in Bihar and Chhattisgarh are already underway - Bihar’s polls have concluded and counting in Chhattisgarh must be completed within a month.

It also noted that polls are not due in Odisha (where elections were held in 2023), Madhya Pradesh (where elections are due in 2026), and Manipur (where elections are due in 2027). With these five excluded, the Court held that 17 State Bar Councils must go to polls without delay.

It then issued detailed directions laying down the schedule.

In the first phase, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana shall conclude elections by January 31, 2026.

In the second phase, polls in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Tripura and Puducherry shall be completed by February 28, 2026.

In the third phase, elections in Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Gujarat and Punjab & Haryana shall be completed by March 15, 2026.

In the fourth phase, elections in Meghalaya and Maharashtra shall be conducted by March 31, 2026.

In the fifth phase, polls in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam shall be held by April 30, 2026.

The Court also made it clear that all these elections will be conducted under the direct supervision of High-Powered Election Committees headed by retired High Court judges.

Over and above these regional panels, the Court said it shall constitute a national High-Powered Supervisory Committee comprising a former Supreme Court judge, a former High Court Chief Justice and a Senior Advocate who does not contest Bar Council elections.

The Bench then turned to the issue of verification of advocates’ law degrees. It noted that while all State Bar Councils are duty-bound to verify the genuineness of degrees, given the presence of fake degree holders in the profession, this exercise cannot become a ground to delay elections. The Court compared verification to delimitation and said it must continue simultaneously.

To facilitate this, the Court directed all law universities and law departments to depute a special team, including a senior faculty member, to verify degrees sent by State Bar Councils. They may charge fees in accordance with existing rules.

The Court further ordered that advocates who have applied for verification shall be allowed to vote, subject to the consequences that may follow if their degrees are later found to be fake.

The Court also prescribed a fixed timeline for various election processes to ensure timely completion.

- 15 days for preparation and publication of electoral rolls from November 20;

- 7 days for objections;

- 7 days for filing nominations;

- 1 day for publication of the final list;

- 3 days for withdrawal; and

- 20 days for the preferential-vote election.

Counting shall take place under the supervision of the High-Powered Committees. Where any of these steps have already been completed, the Committee may dispense with the requirement.

Any person aggrieved by the decision of a regional committee may approach the national High-Powered Supervisory Committee, whose decision will be final. The Court barred all civil courts and High Courts from entertaining challenges to these decisions.

The Bench also granted liberty to lawyers, who raised grievances during the hearing, to approach the High-Powered Committees. It recorded the Bar Council of India’s assurance that it would cooperate fully to ensure timely and transparent elections.