Supreme Court to constitute retired judge-led panels to oversee polls to State Bar Councils

The Supreme Court recently said it will prepare a list of retired High Court judges from every State who shall form independent/multi-member committees to directly supervise Bar Council elections in their respective States to ensure transparency and credibility [M Varadhan vs. Union of India & Anr.].

A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said it will not allow State Bar Councils to have complete autonomy over the elections.

"We will not allow the election to be conducted by the State bar Council alone. We will appoint some former retired judge of out choice to monitor the election.. We will appoint one retired High Court judge for every Bar Council to monitor the election as kind of an election commission," Justice Kant said.

The Court asked Bar Council of India Chairman Senior Advocate Manan Mishra to furnish a list of all States where Bar elections have already been notified so it can start preparing the list of judges it intends to appoint to oversee the elections.

The bench made the observations while hearing the matter concerning the long-pending Bar Council elections across several States.The Supreme Court has been closely monitoring the Bar Council election process for several months and has expressed concern over repeated postponements.

In its September 24 order, the Court had fixed January 31, 2026 as the outer limit for completing all State Bar Council elections, warning that verification of law degrees could not be cited as a reason for delay.

The matter is slated for further hearing on November 18.

[Read Order]