The Supreme Court was informed today that the results of the recently conducted elections for the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) will be recounted following the receipt of certain complaints.

Senior Advocate Vijay Hansaria, a member of the Election Committee appointed by the Court, informed a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta that, "Based on complaints from Mr. Adish C. Aggarwala and Mr. Pradeep Rai, who contested for the post of President, we found merit in the allegation that the total number of votes declared for the President’s post—2,651—exceeded the number of ballots issued, which was 2,588. We are therefore proposing to conduct a recount today at 11:30 AM."

The bench directed that immediately after the recount of votes for the post of SCBA President, a report be submitted to the Court without declaring the results. In the meantime, the bench also ordered that the votes for the other Executive Committee members be recounted as well.

"We have received [complaints] only with respect to President and Executive Member. For recounting, we have requested Registrar General to act as Observer," Hansaria said.

"Then, please go for recount with respect to these. Don't declare the results after recount. We'd like to see if it's fair after recounting," Justice Kant said.

During the hearing, the bench expressed displeasure with Dr. Adish C. Aggarwala, who was appearing virtually and had reportedly written a letter suggesting criminal prosecution against members of the Election Committee. Justice Surya Kant remarked that any attempt to browbeat the Election Committee members would not be tolerated, emphasizing that they function as the "extended arms" of the Court.

Hansaria informed the bench that the recounting of votes for the Executive Committee posts would take two to three days, but some EC members are unavailable for several weeks. In response, the bench directed that the recount for the SCBA President’s post begin immediately and stated that if necessary, the Court would replace some members of the Executive Committee to expedite the process.

Case Title: Supreme Court Bar Association v. BD Kaushik, Diary No. 13992/2023