Delhi High Court - Orders
Lalit Sharma And Ors vs Union Of India &Ors on 13 March, 2026
Author: Prathiba M. Singh
Bench: Prathiba M. Singh, Navin Chawla, C. Hari Shankar
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* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(C) 10363/2021
LALIT SHARMA AND ORS. .....Petitioners
Through:
versus
UNION OF INDIA &ORS. .....Respondents
Through: Mr. T. Singhdev, Mr. Tanishq
Srivastava, Mr. Abhijit Chakravarty,
Mr. Bhanu Gulati, Ms. Yamini Singh,
Mr. Sourabh Kumar, Mr. Vedant
Sood, Ms. Ramanpreet Kau, Advs. for
BCD. (M: 9044153267)
Mr. Ruchir Mishra, Mr. Sanjiv Kr.
Saxena Mr. Mukesh Kr. Tiwari, Ms.
Poonam Shukla & Ms. Reba Jena
Mishra, Advs. for UoI.
Mr. Ajay Kumar Agarwal, Adv. for
Bar Council Of Delhi.
Mr. N. Hariharan, Sr. Advocate Mr.
Sacchin Puri, Sr. Advocate Mr.
Vikram Singh Panwar, Ms. Kanika
Singh, Mr. Kunal Malhotra, Advs.
Mr. Rakesh Tiku, Sr. Advocate Ms.
Prem Lata Bansal, Sr. Advocate Mr.
B.S. Dhir, Ms. Kajal Chandra, Ms.
Vidhi Gupta, Mr. Amit Choudhary,
Ms. Chandrika Gupta, Mr. Shrey
Sharawat, Mr. Nitesh Mehra, Mr.
Lakshy Kaushik, Mr. Ashish Mr.
Monu Kumar & Mr. Shohit Chaudhry,
Advs.
Dr. Amit George, Mr. Adhishwar Suri,
Ms. Ibansara Syiemlieh, Ms. Rupam
Jha & Mr. Dushyant K. Kaul, Advs.
W.P.(C) 10363/2021 Page 1 of 4
This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.
The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 17/03/2026 at 21:07:49
for DHC.
Mr. Vijay Bishnoi, Adv.
Mr. Karamveer Tyagi, Adv.
CORAM:
JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH
JUSTICE NAVIN CHAWLA
JUSTICE C. HARI SHANKAR
ORDER
% 13.03.2026
1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
CM APPL.66336/20252. In the present writ petition, directions have been issued from time to time, in respect of conduct of elections to the Delhi High Court Bar Association, as also the various Bar Associations in the District Courts.
3. This application, being CM APPL. 66336/2025 has been filed praying that the biometrics of all the advocates who are members of the various Bar Associations across Delhi, ought to be captured, so that whenever elections are held for such Bar Associations, the biometric data can be used for fair and proper conduct of the elections.
4. Today, the Bar Council of Delhi, the Bar Association annexed to the Rouse Avenue Court, as also the Dwarka Bar Association, have appeared before the Court.
5. Ld. Counsel for the Bar Council of Delhi submits that the Bar Council of Delhi in-principle supports biometric proximity cards being used in various elections.
6. Let all the Bar Associations attached to the various District Courts, place on record their stand in writing.
7. In addition, all the other recognized District Court Bar Associations are W.P.(C) 10363/2021 Page 2 of 4 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 17/03/2026 at 21:07:49 permitted to file their stand on record before the next date of hearing.
8. Ld. Counsel for the Petitioner has also pointed out to the affidavit filed by the Delhi High Court dated 15th January, 2026 wherein the minutes of Security Committee of the Delhi High Court held on 9th September, 2025 are attached. The relevant extracts of the said Minutes are as under:
"Mr. Tariq, an associate of M/s. SEC Communications Pvt. Ltd., vendor of PWD, also gave a brief demonstration before the Committee as to how the access control system works using Proximity Cards and DesReader machines. He has informed that this system was used during the elections of all the Bar Associations. There is growing trend of integrating biometrics, like face recognition into these systems. Mr. Tariq has also pointed out that this technology is already in use at some airports and the Bangalore Metro. He has further described that biometrics can be added to existing Proximity Cards, so those who already have a card would not require a new one. He has highlighted that the biometric data is highly secure, as the data is stored directly on the biometric device and not on the cloud or any other remote storage. These devices are protected by template security and cryptography, making them technologically sound and secure. It also eliminates card sharing and buddy punching. The system provides rapid device authentication in sub-seconds, ensuring a quick and seamless entry process. The biometric-enabled Proximity Cards offer a significant advantage, if a person forgets their physical card, they can still gain access using face recognition.
Decision in respect of capturing biometric of the Advocates and their clerks for issuance of Proximity Cards and issuance of RFID Tags for entry of vehicles of Advocates inside the premises of the courts will be taken after presentation in this regard is given by the W.P.(C) 10363/2021 Page 3 of 4 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 17/03/2026 at 21:07:49 vendor of PWD before the Committee in the next meeting."
9. A perusal of the said minutes would reveal that certain proposals and recommendations have been considered by the Security Committee of the Delhi High Court and are presently pending for a final decision.
10. Let the previous order dated 16th January, 2026, as also today's order be placed before the Security Committee of the Delhi High Court by Mr. Amit George, ld. Counsel so that the Security Committee can take a decision in respect of use of biometric proximity cards.
11. A status report be placed on record by the next date of hearing.
12. List on 22nd May, 2026.
PRATHIBA M. SINGH, J.
NAVIN CHAWLA, J.
C. HARI SHANKAR, J.
MARCH 13, 2026 dj/ss W.P.(C) 10363/2021 Page 4 of 4 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 17/03/2026 at 21:07:49