M. Varadhan vs Union Of India on 18 November, 2025

[Cites 1, Cited by 0]

Supreme Court - Daily Orders

M. Varadhan vs Union Of India on 18 November, 2025

Bench: Surya Kant

                                                                          Revised

     ITEM NOS.23 + 45                   COURT NO.2                 SECTION PIL-W

                           S U P R E M E C O U R T O F      I N D I A
                                   RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

                         Writ Petition(s)(Civil)   No(s).   1319/2023

     M. VARADHAN                                                 Petitioner(s)

                                            VERSUS

     UNION OF INDIA & ANR.                              Respondent(s)
     (IA No. 258373/2025 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS, IA No.
     270527/2025 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS, IA No. 265478/2025 -
     APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS, IA No. 264631/2025 - APPROPRIATE
     ORDERS/DIRECTIONS,    IA     No.    261431/2025    -     APPROPRIATE
     ORDERS/DIRECTIONS, IA No. 260210/2025 – CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION, IA
     No. 265469/2025 - EXTENSION OF TIME, IA No. 258372/2025 -
     INTERVENTION APPLICATION, IA No. 270162/2025 - INTERVENTION
     APPLICATION, IA No. 288267/2025 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION, IA No.
     242244/2025 – INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT, IA No. 276937/2025 –
     INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT, IA No. 273899/2025 – MODIFICATION, IA No.
     245323/2025 - PERMISSION TO FILE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS/FACTS/
     ANNEXURES and IA No. 242662/2023 - STAY APPLICATION)

     WITH

     T.C.(C) No. 112-115/2015 (XII-B)

     T.C.(C) No. 110/2015 (XII-B)
     (IA No. 86498/2017 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION)

     T.C.(C) No. 111/2015 (XII-B)

     T.C.(C) No. 119/2015 (XV)

     T.C.(C) No. 118/2015 (III-A)

     T.C.(C) No. 116/2015 (IV)

     T.C.(C) No. 117/2015 (III-A)

     T.C.(C) No. 127/2015 (XIV-A)

     T.C.(C) No. 126/2015 (XIV-A)
     (IA No. 22372/2021 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS, IA No.
     22168/2025 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS, IA No. 95063/2021 –
Signature Not Verified


     CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION, IA No. 180916/2022 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING
Digitally signed by
NITIN TALREJA
Date: 2025.11.24
     O.T., IA No. 132357/2021 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T., IA No.
16:51:31 IST
Reason:

     95062/2021 – INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT, IA No. 242449/2025 -
     PERMISSION TO FILE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS/FACTS/ANNEXURES and IA No.

                                             1
23851/2025   -   PERMISSION    TO   FILE   ADDITIONAL   DOCUMENTS/FACTS/
ANNEXURES)

T.C.(C) No. 133/2015 (XI-B)
(FOR ON IA 1/2016)

T.C.(C) No. 2/2016 (III)

W.P.(C) No. 799/2016 (X)

W.P.(C) No. 644/2016 (X)

W.P.(C) No. 709/2016 (PIL-W)

W.P.(C) No. 808/2016 (PIL-W)

W.P.(C) No. 1005/2016 (X)

T.C.(C) No. 63/2018 (XII-A)

CONMT.PET.(C) No. 622/2023 in T.C.(C) No. 126/2015 (XIV-A)

W.P.(C) No. 82/2023 (X)
(IA No.15785/2023-EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T. and IA No. 15785/2023
- EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T.)

T.P.(C) No. 1298/2024 (XVII-B)
(IA No. 110368/2024 - EX-PARTE STAY)

W.P.(C) No. 865/2025 (X)
(IA No. 225187/2025 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T.)

WITH

ITEM NO. 45
Transfer Petition(s)(Civil) No(s). 90-94/2024
(IA No. 9540/2024 - STAY APPLICATION)

T.P.(C) No. 270-271/2024 (XI-B)
(IA No. 214088/2024 - CONDONATION OF DELAY IN FILING THE SPARE
COPIES and IA No. 24977/2024 - STAY APPLICATION)

T.C.(C) No. 38/2024 (XII-B)
(IA No. 7890/2025 - PERMISSION TO APPEAR AND ARGUE IN PERSON)

T.P.(C) No. 2930/2024 (XV)
(IA No. 251798/2024 - STAY APPLICATION)

T.P.(C) No. 2997/2024 (XII-A)
(IA No. 256650/2024 - STAY APPLICATION)

T.P.(C) No. 156/2025 (IX-A)
(IA No. 17549/2025 - STAY APPLICATION)

                                    2
T.P.(C) No. 349/2025 (XII-A)
(IA No. 33259/2025 - STAY APPLICATION)

SLP(C) No. 7328/2025 (XV)
(IA No. 67309/2025 - PERMISSION TO FILE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS/FACTS/
ANNEXURES)

T.P.(C) No. 840/2025 (IV-A)
(IA No. 78135/2025 - STAY APPLICATION)

T.P.(C) No. 967/2025 (IV-A)
(IA No. 89274/2025 - STAY APPLICATION)

SLP(C) No. 19203/2025 (XIV)
(IA No. 167143/2025 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED
JUDGMENT)

Date : 18-11-2025 These matters were called on for hearing today.

CORAM :   HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SURYA KANT
          HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE UJJAL BHUYAN
          HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NONGMEIKAPAM KOTISWAR SINGH

For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Vivek Narayan Sharma, AOR
                    Mr. Akash Singh, Adv.
                    Mrs. Mahima Bhardwaj Kalucha, Adv.
                    Mr. Adhiraj Wadhera, Adv.

                    Ms. Pratibha Jain, AOR
                    Mrs. Christi Jain, Adv.
                    Mr. Harsh Jain, Adv.
                    Ms. Akriti Sharma, Adv.
                    Mr. Om Sudhir Vidyarthi, Adv.
                    Mr. Aditya Jain, Adv.
                    Mr. Siddharth Jain, Adv.
                    Mr. Yogit Kamat, Adv.

                    Mr. Chirag Joshi, Adv.
                    Mr. Ghanshyam Joshi, AOR

                    Mr. Shailesh Madiyal, Sr. Adv.
                    Mr. Anantha Narayana M.g., AOR
                    Mr. Anchit Singhla, Adv.
                    Mr. Vineet Prasad, Adv.
                    Mrs. Rakhi Madiyal, Adv.
                    Mr. M L Gopalakrishna, Adv.
                    Mr. Ram Prasad Alwa, Adv.

                    Mr. Ramesh Babu M. R., AOR
                    Mr. P. Soma Sundaram, AOR
                    Mr. Anil Kumar Gupta-ii, AOR



                                  3
Mr. M Gireesh Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Ankur S. Kulkarni, AOR
Mr. Sanjay Singh, Adv.
Mr. Tarun, Adv.
Mr. Thamizhendhi, Adv.

M/S. Ram Sankar & Co, AOR
Mr. Guru Krishna Kumar, Sr. Adv.
Ms. Anjul Dwivedi, Adv.
Dr. Ram Sankar, Adv.
Mrs. Harini Ramsankar, Adv.
Mr. Maheswaran Prabakaran, Adv.
Mr. Ashwin K, Adv.
Mr. Vishesh Goel, Adv.

Mr. B.M. Singh, Adv.
Mr. Ankit Borker, Adv.
Ms. Alpana Sharma, AOR

Mr. Amit Pawan, AOR

Mrs. Madhavi Divan, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Aditya Kumar Choudhary, Adv.
Mr. M Vel Murugan, Adv.
Mr. Sandeep Pandey, Adv.
Mr. Aditya Anand Singh, Adv.
Mr. Anurag Yadav, Adv.
Mr. Ankur, Adv.
Mr. Rajesh Singh Chauhan, AOR

Dr. Charanjeet Singh Chanderpal, Adv.
Mr. Anil Kumar, AOR

Mr. Mohammed Sadique T.a., AOR

Mr. Kamran Khwaja, Adv.
Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR

By Courts Motion, AOR
M/S. Parekh & Co., AOR

Ms. Santosh, Adv.
Mr. Kaushal Kishore, Adv.
Dr. Sunil Kumar Agarwal, AOR
Mr. Amarjeet Sahani, Adv.
Ms. Shweta Bhardwaj, Adv.
Mr. Daleep Singh, Adv.
Mrs. Mamta Singh, Adv.

Ms. Priya Hingorani, Sr.   Adv.
Mr. R.H.A. Sikandar, AOR
Mr. Jatin Bhatt, Adv.


             4
                    Mr. Sanawar, Adv.
                    Mr. Kshitij Singh, Adv.
                    Mr. Sikandar Raza, Adv.
                    Mr. Faisal Mohammad, Adv.
                    Ms. Nuzhat Naseem, Adv.
                    Mr. Kumail Abbas, Adv.

                    Mr. Pradeep Kumar Yadav (in person)
                    Mr. P. Murugesan, Adv.
                    Ms. Anjale Patel, Adv.
                    Mr. Gopal Singh, Adv.
                    Mr. Sanjeev Malhotra, AOR

For applicant/intervenor in IA No.292159/2025

                    Mr. Rakesh K. Khanna, Sr. Adv.
                    Mr. K.K. Tyagi, Adv.
                    Mr. Aditya P. Khanna, Adv.
                    Mr. Iftekhar Ahmad, Adv.
                    Ms. Garima Tyagi, Adv.
                    Ms. Arushi Jindal, Adv.
                    Ms. Neelakshi Sharma, Adv.
                    Mr. Anurag Sharma, Adv.
                    Mr. Ritvik Bharadwaj, Adv.
                    Dr. Sarvam Ritam Khare, AOR

For Petitioner(s)
in Item 45          Mr. Shashank Deo Sudhi, Adv.
                    Mr. Aru Prakash, Adv.
                    Mr. Yadav Narender Singh, AOR

                    By Courts Motion, AOR

                    Mr. Dharmendra Kumar Sinha, AOR
                    Mr. Subodh Kumar Pathak, Adv.
                    Mr. Satish Khandwa, Adv.
                    Mr. Pawan Kumar Sharma, Adv.

                    M/S. Ram Sankar & Co, AOR
                    Petitioner-in-person

For Respondent(s) : Mr. K.M. Natraj, ASG
                    Ms. Alka Agrawal, Adv.
                    Mr. R.R. Rajesh, Adv.
                    Mr. N. Vishakamurthy, AOR

                    Mr. Parmanand Pandey, AOR
                    Mr. Jogy Scaria, AOR
                    Mrs. Nandini Gore, AOR
                    Ms. Aparna Jha, AOR
                    Mr. Venkateswara Rao Anumolu, AOR



                                 5
Mr. Vikas Upadhyay, AOR
Ms. Ankita Kashyap, Adv.
Mr. Ranveer Singh, Adv.
Mr. Shiva Narang, Adv.
Mr. Alok Shankar, Adv.

Mr. Ashwani Kumar Dubey, AOR
Ms. Garima Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Swati Dwivedi, Adv.

Ms. Sneha Kalita, AOR
Mr. H. Chandra Sekhar, AOR
M/S. Venkat Palwai Law Associates, AOR
Mr. Rajeev Singh, AOR
Mr. Praveen Agrawal, AOR

Mr. Gopal Prasad, AOR
Ms. Shalya Agarwal, Adv.

Mr. Kunal Chatterji, AOR
Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Adv.
Mr. Rohit Bansal, Adv.
Mr. Varij Nayan Mishra, Adv.

Mr. Amol B. Karande, AOR
Mr. Y. Raja Gopala Rao, AOR

Mr. Mohammed Sadique T.A., AOR
Mrs. Anu K Joy, Adv.
Mr. Alim Anvar, Adv.
Mr. Santhosh K, Adv.
Mrs. Devika A.l., Adv.

Ms. Kamakshi S. Mehlwal, AOR
Mr. Subhasish Mohanty, AOR
M/S. Parekh & Co., AOR

Mr. Shibashish Misra, AOR
Mr. Manav Sabharwal, Adv.
Ms. Shivangi Gupta, Adv.

Ms. Malini Poduval, AOR
Mr. Himinder Lal, AOR
Ms. Manju Jetley, AOR

Mr. J.n.s. Tyagi, Adv.
Mr. Mahesh Agarwal, Adv.
Mr. E. C. Agrawala, AOR

M/S. Manoj Swarup And Co., AOR
Mr. Suvendu Suvasis Dash, AOR



             6
Mr. Mohinder Jit Singh, AOR
Mr. Hardik Rupal, Adv.
Ms. Aishwarya Malhotra, Adv.
Ms. Tripta Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Lopamudra Mahapatra, Adv.

Mr. Pijush K. Roy, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Pritthish Roy, Adv.
Ms. Kakali Roy, Adv.
Mr. Rajan K. Chourasia, AOR

Mr. Nischal Kumar Neeraj, AOR
Mr. Amod Kumar Mishra, Adv.
Mr. Vishalmudgal, Adv.
Mr. Shafiq Khan, Adv.
Ms. Reema Roy, Adv.
Ms. Neelima Bagoria, Adv.
Mrs. Smertiy Rani, Adv.
Mrs. Sabika Ahmad, Adv.
Ms. Anjani Suri, Adv.
Ms. Lakshmi, Adv.
Ms. Banisha Verma, Adv.
Mr. Tariq Muneer, Adv.
Mrs. Raj Rani, Adv.

Ms. K. V. Bharathi Upadhyaya, AOR
Mr. Sufyan Hasan, Adv.
Ms. Pritama, Adv.
Ms. Shaivani Gupta, Adv.
Ms. Hema Malik, Adv.
Dr. Sunita, Adv.
Ms. D Poornima, Adv.

Mr. Aditya Singh, AOR

Mr. Shishir Pinaki, AOR

Mr. Anand Nandan, Adv.
Mr. Kuldeep Mishra, Adv.
Mr. Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, AOR

Mr. Deepak Goel, AOR
Mr. Kamal Kumar Pandey, Adv.
Ms. Urvashi Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, AOR
Mr. Karun Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Anupama Ngangom, Adv.
Ms. Rajkumari Divyasana, Adv.

Mr. Sudarshan Singh Rawat, AOR



             7
Ms. Adviteeya, Adv.
Mr. Rakesh K. Sharma, AOR

Mr. M. A. Chinnasamy, AOR
Mrs. C Rubavathi, Adv.
Mr. C Raghavendren, Adv.
Mr. Saurabh Gupta, Adv.
Mr. Ch. Leela Sarveswar, Adv.
Mr. Amit Kumar, Adv.
Mr. P Raja Ram, Adv.
Mr. K. Gopinath, Adv.

Mr. Harvinder Chowdhury, AOR

Mr. Yusuf, AOR
Mr. S Prabakaran, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Naveen Murthy, Adv.
Mrs. Usha Prabakaran, Adv.
Mr. Maheswaran Prabakaran, Adv.
Dr. Ram Sankar, Adv.
Mrs. Harini Ramsankar, Adv.

Mr. Manan Kumar Mishra, Sr. Adv.
Mr. S. Prabakaran, Sr. Adv.
Ms. Radhika Gautam, AOR
Mr. Anjul Dwivedi, Adv.

Mr. Harsh V. Surana, AOR
Dr. Sandeep Singh, Adv.
Mr. Vikrant Rana, Adv.

Mr. K.M. Nataraj, A.S.G.
Mr. Mukul Singh, Adv.
Ms. Alka Agarwal, Adv.
Mr. R.R. Rajesh, Adv.
Mr. Mohd. Akhil, Adv.
Mr. T.S. Sabarish, Adv.
Dr. N. Visakamurthy, AOR

Ms. Tatini Basu, AOR
Mr. Byrapaneni Suyodhan, Adv.
Ms. Obulapuram Keerthi, Adv.

Mr. K. V. Mohan, AOR

Ms. Vibha Datta Makhija, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Anil Kaushik, Sr. Adv.
Mr. T. Singhdev, Adv.
Mr. Rajesh Mishra, Adv.
Mr. Tanishq Shrivatsava, Adv.
Ms. Yamini Singh, Adv.
Mr. Praveen Gaur, Adv.


             8
Mr. Abhijit Chakravarty, Adv.
Mr. Bhanu Gulati, Adv.
Mr. Sourabh Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Vedant Sood, Adv.
Mr. Prateek Bhatia, AOR

Mr. Nakul Dewan, Sr. Adv.
Mrs. Sumita Ray, AOR
Ms. Disha Ray, Adv.
Mr. Kunal Narwal, Adv.
Ms. Vanshika Singh, Adv.
Mr. Anurag Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Sumeer Sodhi, AOR

Ms. Manisha Ambwani, AOR

Mr. Manish Kumar Saran, AOR
Ms. Ananya Tyagi, Adv.

Mr. Aljo K. Joseph, AOR
Mr. Rajesh Kumar, Adv.
Ms. Ankita Kutthi, Adv.
Mr. N Leela Vara Prasad, Adv.
Mr. Santhosh Kumar Kolkundra, Adv.
Mr. Vinay Kumar Puvvala, Adv.
Mr. Saket Jee, Adv.
Mr. Siddharth Singh, Adv.
Mr. Rohit Kalra, Adv.

Mr. D S Naidu, Sr. Adv.
Mrs. Meenakshi Arora, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Rajat Kapoor, Adv.
Dr. Arvind S. Avhad, AOR

Mr. Ananta Prasad Mishra, AOR
Mr. Saurabh Gupta, Adv.
Mr. Jasbir Singh, Adv.

Ms. Christi Jain, AOR
Mr. Mann Arora, Adv.
Mr. Harsh Jain, Adv.
Mr. Aditya Jain, Adv.
Mr. Siddharth Jain, Adv.
Mr. Om Sudhir Vidyarthi, Adv.

Mr. Anjani Kumar Mishra, AOR
Mrs. Hardeep Kaur Mishra, Adv.
Mr. Praveen Mishra, Adv.
Dr. P.n. Mishra, Adv.
Mr. Rajesh Kumar Singh, Adv.
Mr. Krishna Gopal Mishra, Adv.


             9
Mr. Arvind Kumar, Adv.

Mr. D. Bharat Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Aman Shukla, Adv.
Mr. M. Chandrakanth Reddy, Adv.
Mr. Siddhartha Sinha, AOR

Mr. Vivek Narayan Sharma, AOR
Mr. Akash Singh, Adv.
Mrs. Mahima Bhardwaj Kalucha, Adv.
Mr. Adhiraj Wadhera, Adv.
Mr. Akash Pratap Singh, Adv.
Mr. Nitish Kumar Mishra, Adv.

Dr. Charanjeet Singh Chanderpal, Adv.
Mr. Anil Kumar, AOR

Mr. Gautam Das, AOR
Mr. Shivam Kumar, Adv.
Mr. C.M. Gopal, Adv.
Mr. R.K. Padhi, Adv.
Mr. Kumar Pal, Adv.
Mr. Abanikanta Sahu, Adv.
Mr. Tarun Kant Samantaray, Adv.
Ms. Khushi Chopra, Adv.

Mr. Sanchit Garga, AOR
Mr. Kunal Rana, Adv.
Mr. Shashwat Jaiswal, Adv.
Mr. Bhanu Pratap Singh, Adv.

Mr. P V Surendranath, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Biju P Raman, AOR
Mr. Sawan Kumar Shukla, Adv.
Mr. John Thomas, Adv.

Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, AOR
Mr. Karun Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Anupama Ngangom, Adv.
Ms. Rajkumari Divyasana, Adv.

Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR
Mr. Guntur Prabhakar, AOR

Mr. Narender Hooda, Sr. Adv.
Ms. Pallvi Hooda, Adv.
Mr. Shiv Bhatnagar, Adv.
Mr. Yuvraj Nandal, Adv.
Ms. Tannu, Adv.
Ms. Kavya Manuja, Adv.
Dr. Surender Singh Hooda, AOR



             10
                    Mr. Anand Nandan, Adv.
                    Mr. Kuldeep Mishra, Adv.
                    Mr. Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, AOR

                    Mr. Mahi Pal Singh, Adv.
                    Ms. Manisha Chawla, Adv.
                    Mr. Supriya, Adv.
                    Mr. Anupam Kumar, Adv.
                    Mr. Honey Sharma, Adv.
                    Mr. Santosh Kumar Jha, Adv.

                    Mr. Manjit Singh Gill, Adv.
                    Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv.
                    Mr. Amit Kumar Chawla, Adv.
                    Mr. Akhileshwar Jha, Adv.
                    Ms. Swati Vishan, Adv.
                    Mr. Saurabh Kumar Solanki, Adv.
                    Mr. Hardeep, Adv.

In IA No.294408/2025 and IA No.294410/2025

                    Mr. Amit Pai, Adv.
                    Mr. Abhiyudaya Vats, Adv.
                    Mr. Tathagata Dutta, Adv.
                    Mr. Rahat Bansal, AOR

For intervenor in IA No.288267/2025

                    Mr. Mehmood Pracha, Adv.
                    Mr. R.H.A. Sikander, AOR
                    Mr. Jatin Bhatt, Adv.

For intervenor

                    Ms. K.R. Chitra, AOR


For respondent(s)
in Item 45          M/S. Godavari Law Associates, AOR
                    Respondent-in-person
                    M/S. Ram Sankar & Co, AOR
                    Mr. Biju P Raman, AOR

                    Mr. Prashant Shrikant Kenjale, AOR
                    Mr. B. Dhananjay, Adv.

                    Mr. Anubhav, AOR
                    Mr. Gopal Shankar Naryan, Sr. Adv.
                    Mr. Somanadri Goud, Adv.
                    Mr. Devansh Sharma, Adv.
                    Mr. Ravinder Kumar, Adv.
                    Ms. Anushikha Rathore, Adv.


                                 11
                        Mr. Ponnam Mahesh Babu, Adv.

                        Mr. Dharmendra Kumar Sinha, AOR
                        Mr. Subodh Kumar Pathak, Adv.
                        Mr. Satish Khandwa, Adv.
                        Mr. Pawan Kr Sharma, Adv.

                        Ms. Vibha Datta Makhija, Sr. Adv.
                        Mr. Anil Kaushik, Sr. Adv.
                        Mr. T. Singhdev, Adv.
                        Mr. Rajesh Mishra, Adv.
                        Mr. Tanishq Shrivatsava, Adv.
                        Ms. Yamini Singh, Adv.
                        Mr. Praveen Gaur, Adv.
                        Mr. Abhijit Chakravarty, Adv.
                        Mr. Bhanu Gulati, Adv.
                        Mr. Sourabh Kumar, Adv.
                        Mr. Vedant Sood, Adv.
                        Mr. Prateek Bhatia, AOR

                        Mr. H. Chandra Sekhar, AOR

                        Mr. D. Bharat Kumar, Adv.
                        Mr. M. Chandrakanth Reddy, Adv.
                        Mr. Siddhartha Sinha, AOR

                        Mr. Rajat Kapoor, Adv.
                        Dr. Arvind S. Avhad, AOR

                        Mr. Byrapaneni Suyodhan, Adv.
                        Ms. Tatini Basu, AOR
                        Ms. Obulapuram Keerthi, Adv.

                        Mr. Ashok Singh, AOR

                        Mr. Sudarshan Singh Rawat, AOR
                        Ms. Anubha Dhulia, Adv.

            UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following

                                   O R D E R

1. The controversy in this batch of cases, including various applications filed from time to time, revolves around fair, transparent, and timely conduction of elections for the State Bar Councils.

2. It is not necessary for us to go into the allegations or 12 counter-allegations made by various stakeholders. All that we take notice of is that there are twenty-three State Bar Councils in India, out of which elections to the State Bar Councils of Bihar and Chhattisgarh have already been conducted.

3. In the case of Bihar, the results have been declared, and some aggrieved members have already approached the Election Tribunal No. III of the Bar Council of India. We do not wish to express any opinion in relation to the fairness of the aforesaid election since the matter is sub-judice before the Tribunal.

4. Similarly, counting of votes is presently going on for the State Bar Council of Chhattisgarh. In that instance, we believe that counting should be concluded as early as possible, but not later than one month from the date of this order, and a compliance report be filed in this regard. The Bar Council of India shall ensure that an effective Election Tribunal is made available to enable the aggrieved members of the Chhattisgarh Bar to agitate any and all issues in relation to the conduct and the outcome of the election.

5. In the case of two more State Bar Councils, i.e., Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, the elections are not due till 2028 and July 2026, respectively.

6. Excluding the above-mentioned four State Bar Councils, we are left with nineteen State Bar Councils, where the elections are required to be conducted at the earliest, in a time-bound, fair, transparent, and just manner.

7. Learned senior counsel/counsel representing the petitioner(s)/applicant(s), as well as those representing the State Bar Councils, however, have pointed out a practical difficulty in conducting the elections due to pendency of the verification of law degrees of the advocates registered with them. It is submitted that till such exercise to identify Advocates with fake or unrecognized degrees is not completed, the voter list cannot be finalised. It may be noted here that, in terms of the directions issued by this Court, all the State Bar Councils are obligated to verify the genuineness of the law degrees of advocates enrolled with them. Such directions have been necessitated on account of the fact that numerous fake degree holders are masquerading as advocates, a reasoning which has been reiterated by this Court in a series of prior orders. There cannot, thus, be any exception but to comply with those directions meticulously and in an expedient manner.

8. Regardless thereto, the verification of genuineness of degrees of enrolled advocates, being a continuing process, cannot be a valid ground to keep the elections of the State Bar Councils in abeyance. In our considered opinion, the verification of law degrees in these cases is akin to the ‘delimitation’ process undertaken before the elections to various democratic institutions under our Constitution. While it is ideal that such like process is completed prior to the elections, but mere pendency thereof cannot be an impediment to conducting elections. Hence, the contention of the Bar Councils and other stakeholders that the verification process remains to be completed, and therefore, the elections 14 should be deferred till such completion, deserves to be rejected. Ordered accordingly.

9. For the purpose of holding timely elections, the Bar Council of India had earlier submitted the Election Schedule as per its Rules, which would have taken a long time to conclude. Since the time-line proposed therein was contrary to the very ethos of timely elections, the BCI has today submitted a written note, proposing expedited election schedule. While we broadly agree with the time- line recommended therein, it seems to us that elections of all the State Bar Councils must, in all circumstances, be concluded before 30.04.2026.

10. On a consideration of the time required for completion of different stages of the election process, we find it necessary and appropriate to invoke the powers vested in this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution and prescribe the following model time- line, to be followed for each State Bar Council election that would take place hereafter:

(i) Preparation and publication of provisional electoral rolls (after or pending verification) – 15 days from the date of election notification;

(ii) Inviting objections to the electoral rolls – 7 days from

(i);

(iii) Publication of final electoral rolls – 7 days from (ii); 15

(iv) Filing of nominations – 7 days from (iii);

(v) Scrutiny of nomination documents – 2 days from (iv);

(vi) Publication of list of candidates – 1 day from (v);

(vii) Withdrawal of candidature and publication of the final list of candidates – 3 days from (vi);

(viii) Elections as per preferential system of votes – 20 days from (vii).

11. The entire election process, including counting of votes, shall be controlled and monitored through their direct supervision by the High-Powered Election Committees, constituted hereinafter.

12. With a view to facilitate the effective conduction of these elections, we deem it appropriate that elections to different State Bar Councils ought to take place in a phased manner. To that end, we issue the following directions:

I. The State Bar Councils of Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, where the elections have already been notified, shall conclude their elections by 31.01.2026. The counting of votes and subsequent declaration of results shall, in any case, be concluded on or before 28.02.2026. The elections 16 will be conducted under the direct supervision of the High-Powered Election Committee – Phase I, comprising the following three members:

(i) Justice Ravi Ranjan, former Chief Justice, Jharkhand High Court (Chairperson);

(ii) Justice A.R. Masoodi, former Judge, Allahabad High Court; and

(iii) Justice Rekha Palli, former Judge, Delhi High Court.

II. In the second phase, the elections of the State Bar Councils of Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Tripura shall be conducted. The entire election programme, including counting of votes and subsequent declaration of results shall, in any case, be concluded on or before 28.02.2026. The elections in Andhra Pradesh and Tripura will be conducted under the direct supervision of the High- Powered Election Committee – Phase II, comprising the following three members:

(i) Justice Virender Singh, former Chief Justice, Jharkhand High Court (Chairperson); 17

(ii) Justice Chander Shekhar, former Judge, Delhi High Court; and

(iii) Justice D.C. Chaudhary, former Judge, Himachal Pradesh High Court.

We are informed that, so far as Delhi is concerned, a Special Committee has been constituted to conduct elections to the State Bar Council of Delhi. The three- member Special Committee includes two eminent Senior Advocates, one of whom is also serving as Additional Solicitor General of India. We see no reason to interfere in the composition of that Committee, and it shall perform the same function as envisaged for High- Powered Election Committees in this order. At the same time, in light of the directions passed hereinabove, we impress upon the Special Committee that it may seek guidance from the High-Powered Election Supervision Committee for ensuring fair and transparent elections. III. In the third phase, the elections of the State Bar Councils of Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Punjab & Haryana, Rajasthan, and West Bengal shall be conducted. The entire election programme, including counting of votes and subsequent declaration of results shall, in any 18 case, be concluded on or before 15.03.2026. In the interest of effective supervision, the elections will be conducted under the direct supervision of the following Committees:

(A) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase III-A, for Gujarat and Jharkhand, comprising Justice Siddharth Mridul, former Judge, Delhi High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate; (B) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase III-B, for Karnataka and West Bengal, comprising Justice D. Krishnakumar, former Chief Justice, Manipur High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate; and (C) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase III-C, for Punjab & Haryana, comprising Justice Ranjit Singh, former Judge, Punjab & Haryana High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate.

IV. In the fourth phase, the elections for the State Bar Councils of Maharashtra & Goa, Meghalaya, and Uttarakhand shall be conducted. The entire election programme, including counting of votes and subsequent declaration of results shall, in any case, be concluded on or before 19 31.03.2026. In the interest of effective supervision, the elections will be conducted under the direct supervision of the following Committees:

(A) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase IV-A, for Maharashtra & Goa, comprising Justice K.R. Shriram, former Chief Justice, Madras and Rajasthan High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate; (B) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase IV-B, for Meghalaya, comprising Justice Arup K. Goswami, former Chief Justice, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate; and (C) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase IV-C, for Uttarakhand, comprising Justice Rajiv Sharma, former Judge, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab & Haryana High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate.

V. In the fifth and the last phase, the elections of the State Bar Councils of Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu & Puducherry shall be conducted. The entire election programme, including counting of votes and 20 subsequent declaration of results shall, in any case, be concluded on or before 30.04.2026. In the interest of effective supervision, the elections will be conducted under the direct supervision of the following Committees:

(A) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase V-A, for Assam and Manipur, comprising Justice Arup K. Goswami, former Chief Justice, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate;

(B) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase V-B, for Himachal Pradesh, comprising Justice J.R. Midha, former Judge, Delhi High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate; and (C) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase V-C, for Kerala and Tamil Nadu & Puducherry, comprising Justice Rajiv Shakdher, former Chief Justice, Himachal Pradesh High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate.

13. Having directed so, we hasten to add that the above stipulations would not be so construed that the elections of State Bar Council should be necessarily prolonged till the final prescribed dates. In case the High-Powered Election Committee comes to a conclusion that it would be desirable as well as feasible to 21 conduct the elections as per a preponed schedule, subject to the time-line laid down hereinabove illustratively, it may, through an order, so direct.

14. In addition to the High-Powered Election Committees constituted above, we also deem it appropriate to constitute a three-member High-Powered Election Supervisory Committee, on a pan- India basis, which shall be headed by a former Judge of this Court and shall also comprise one former Chief Justice of a High Court and one renowned Senior Advocate, who does not contest election(s) of the Bar Councils or the Bar Associations. For the same, in this regard, we appoint the following as members of such Supervisory Committee:

(i) Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, former Judge, Supreme Court of India (Chairperson);

(ii) Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, former Chief Justice, Punjab & Haryana High Court; and

(iii) Shri V. Giri, Senior Advocate.

15. We also deem it appropriate to issue certain directions in order to facilitate the Bar Council of India and the State Bar Councils for an expeditious conclusion of the verification process. In this vein, all the Universities/deemed Universities/Law Universities are directed to depute a special team of their 22 officers, which shall include a senior faculty member of the Law Department/Faculty, for verification of the degrees that may have been received from the State Bar Councils. Such verification shall be done within a period of one week from the date of receipt of the degree. However, the Universities shall not raise any additional demand of costs or fees for verification merely because this Court has directed them to conduct the verification process in a prioritised manner.

16. We further direct that the State Bar Councils as well as the High-Powered Election Committees shall adhere to the time schedule, as has been prescribed through this order. All those advocates who have applied for verification of their degrees shall be permitted to cast their vote in the election of the State Bar Councils, subject to the necessary consequences, as the case may be.

17. However, where, on verification, a law degree has been found to be fake/not genuine/unrecognised, such degree holder shall not be permitted to participate in the election process.

18. Where any of the exercise/steps, as referred to in the model time-line suggested above, have been already undertaken by the State Bar Councils as a part of the notified election programme, the High-Powered Election Committee(s) may exempt/dispense with such procedural requirement. All other necessary orders/directions for conducting the elections shall be passed by the High-Powered Election Committee.

19. During the course of hearing, it is seen that several lawyers 23 have individual and varied grievances. We are afraid such individual grievances cannot be addressed in these proceedings. Liberty is, hence, granted to them to apply before the High-Powered Election Committee(s) for redressal of their individual issue(s).

20. Any person who is aggrieved by the decision of the High- Powered Election Committee shall be at liberty to approach the High-Powered Supervisory Committee. The decision taken by the Supervisory Committee shall be final. No civil court or High Court shall entertain any petition(s) against such decision.

21. To enable the Committees constituted herein to perform their functions, we direct the Bar Council of India to make available adequate secretarial assistance to the respective Committees, as required.

22. In addition, the respective Chairpersons and Members of the High-Powered Election Committees, as well as the Chairperson and Members of the High-Powered Election Supervisory Committee, shall be entitled to a reasonable honorarium along with other perks, the amount and modalities of which may be finally decided by the Chairperson of the High-Powered Election Supervisory Committee in consultation with the Bar Council of India.

23. Before closing our observations, we acknowledge and place on record our appreciation for the fair stand taken by the Bar Council of India before this Court to further the cause of fair and transparent elections to the State Bar Councils. 24

24. List on 06.01.2026.

(NITIN TALREJA)                    (PREETHI T.C.)
ASTT. REGISTRAR-cum-PS           ASSISTANT REGISTRAR




                            25
ITEM NOS.23 + 45             COURT NO.2                 SECTION PIL-W

                S U P R E M E C O U R T O F      I N D I A
                        RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s). 1319/2023 M. VARADHAN Petitioner(s) VERSUS UNION OF INDIA & ANR. Respondent(s) (IA No. 258373/2025 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS, IA No. 270527/2025 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS, IA No. 265478/2025 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS, IA No. 264631/2025 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS, IA No. 261431/2025 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS, IA No. 260210/2025 – CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION, IA No. 265469/2025 - EXTENSION OF TIME, IA No. 258372/2025 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION, IA No. 270162/2025 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION, IA No. 288267/2025 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION, IA No. 242244/2025 – INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT, IA No. 276937/2025 – INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT, IA No. 273899/2025 – MODIFICATION, IA No. 245323/2025 - PERMISSION TO FILE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS/FACTS/ ANNEXURES and IA No. 242662/2023 - STAY APPLICATION) WITH T.C.(C) No. 112-115/2015 (XII-B) T.C.(C) No. 110/2015 (XII-B) (IA No. 86498/2017 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION) T.C.(C) No. 111/2015 (XII-B) T.C.(C) No. 119/2015 (XV) T.C.(C) No. 118/2015 (III-A) T.C.(C) No. 116/2015 (IV) T.C.(C) No. 117/2015 (III-A) T.C.(C) No. 127/2015 (XIV-A) T.C.(C) No. 126/2015 (XIV-A) (IA No. 22372/2021 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS, IA No. 22168/2025 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS, IA No. 95063/2021 – CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION, IA No. 180916/2022 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T., IA No. 132357/2021 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T., IA No. 95062/2021 – INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT, IA No. 242449/2025 - PERMISSION TO FILE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS/FACTS/ANNEXURES and IA No. 23851/2025 - PERMISSION TO FILE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS/FACTS/ ANNEXURES) 26 T.C.(C) No. 133/2015 (XI-B) (FOR ON IA 1/2016) T.C.(C) No. 2/2016 (III) W.P.(C) No. 799/2016 (X) W.P.(C) No. 644/2016 (X) W.P.(C) No. 709/2016 (PIL-W) W.P.(C) No. 808/2016 (PIL-W) W.P.(C) No. 1005/2016 (X) T.C.(C) No. 63/2018 (XII-A) CONMT.PET.(C) No. 622/2023 in T.C.(C) No. 126/2015 (XIV-A) W.P.(C) No. 82/2023 (X) (IA No.15785/2023-EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T. and IA No. 15785/2023

- EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T.) T.P.(C) No. 1298/2024 (XVII-B) (IA No. 110368/2024 - EX-PARTE STAY) W.P.(C) No. 865/2025 (X) (IA No. 225187/2025 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T.) WITH ITEM NO. 45 Transfer Petition(s)(Civil) No(s). 90-94/2024 (IA No. 9540/2024 - STAY APPLICATION) T.P.(C) No. 270-271/2024 (XI-B) (IA No. 214088/2024 - CONDONATION OF DELAY IN FILING THE SPARE COPIES and IA No. 24977/2024 - STAY APPLICATION) T.C.(C) No. 38/2024 (XII-B) (IA No. 7890/2025 - PERMISSION TO APPEAR AND ARGUE IN PERSON) T.P.(C) No. 2930/2024 (XV) (IA No. 251798/2024 - STAY APPLICATION) T.P.(C) No. 2997/2024 (XII-A) (IA No. 256650/2024 - STAY APPLICATION) T.P.(C) No. 156/2025 (IX-A) (IA No. 17549/2025 - STAY APPLICATION) 27 T.P.(C) No. 349/2025 (XII-A) (IA No. 33259/2025 - STAY APPLICATION) SLP(C) No. 7328/2025 (XV) (IA No. 67309/2025 - PERMISSION TO FILE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS/FACTS/ ANNEXURES) T.P.(C) No. 840/2025 (IV-A) (IA No. 78135/2025 - STAY APPLICATION) T.P.(C) No. 967/2025 (IV-A) (IA No. 89274/2025 - STAY APPLICATION) SLP(C) No. 19203/2025 (XIV) (IA No. 167143/2025 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT) Date : 18-11-2025 These matters were called on for hearing today. CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SURYA KANT HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE UJJAL BHUYAN HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NONGMEIKAPAM KOTISWAR SINGH For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Vivek Narayan Sharma, AOR Mr. Akash Singh, Adv.

Mrs. Mahima Bhardwaj Kalucha, Adv. Mr. Adhiraj Wadhera, Adv.

Ms. Pratibha Jain, AOR Mrs. Christi Jain, Adv.

Mr. Harsh Jain, Adv.

Ms. Akriti Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Om Sudhir Vidyarthi, Adv.

Mr. Aditya Jain, Adv.

Mr. Siddharth Jain, Adv.

Mr. Yogit Kamat, Adv.

Mr. Chirag Joshi, Adv.

Mr. Ghanshyam Joshi, AOR Mr. Shailesh Madiyal, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Anantha Narayana M.g., AOR Mr. Anchit Singhla, Adv.

Mr. Vineet Prasad, Adv.

Mrs. Rakhi Madiyal, Adv.

Mr. M L Gopalakrishna, Adv.

Mr. Ram Prasad Alwa, Adv.

Mr. Ramesh Babu M. R., AOR Mr. P. Soma Sundaram, AOR Mr. Anil Kumar Gupta-ii, AOR 28 Mr. M Gireesh Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Ankur S. Kulkarni, AOR Mr. Sanjay Singh, Adv.

Mr. Tarun, Adv.

Mr. Thamizhendhi, Adv.

M/S. Ram Sankar & Co, AOR Mr. Guru Krishna Kumar, Sr. Adv.

Ms. Anjul Dwivedi, Adv.

Dr. Ram Sankar, Adv.

Mrs. Harini Ramsankar, Adv.

Mr. Maheswaran Prabakaran, Adv.

Mr. Ashwin K, Adv.

Mr. Vishesh Goel, Adv.

Mr. B.M. Singh, Adv.

Mr. Ankit Borker, Adv.

Ms. Alpana Sharma, AOR Mr. Amit Pawan, AOR Mrs. Madhavi Divan, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Aditya Kumar Choudhary, Adv.

Mr. M Vel Murugan, Adv.

Mr. Sandeep Pandey, Adv.

Mr. Aditya Anand Singh, Adv.

Mr. Anurag Yadav, Adv.

Mr. Ankur, Adv.

Mr. Rajesh Singh Chauhan, AOR Dr. Charanjeet Singh Chanderpal, Adv. Mr. Anil Kumar, AOR Mr. Mohammed Sadique T.a., AOR Mr. Kamran Khwaja, Adv.

Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR By Courts Motion, AOR M/S. Parekh & Co., AOR Ms. Santosh, Adv.

Mr. Kaushal Kishore, Adv.

Dr. Sunil Kumar Agarwal, AOR Mr. Amarjeet Sahani, Adv.

Ms. Shweta Bhardwaj, Adv.

Mr. Daleep Singh, Adv.

Mrs. Mamta Singh, Adv.

Ms. Priya Hingorani, Sr. Adv.

Mr. R.H.A. Sikandar, AOR 29 Mr. Jatin Bhatt, Adv.

Mr. Sanawar, Adv.

Mr. Kshitij Singh, Adv.

Mr. Sikandar Raza, Adv.

Mr. Faisal Mohammad, Adv.

Ms. Nuzhat Naseem, Adv.

Mr. Kumail Abbas, Adv.

Mr. Pradeep Kumar Yadav (in person) Mr. P. Murugesan, Adv.

Ms. Anjale Patel, Adv.

Mr. Gopal Singh, Adv.

Mr. Sanjeev Malhotra, AOR For applicant/intervenor in IA No.292159/2025 Mr. Rakesh K. Khanna, Sr. Adv.

Mr. K.K. Tyagi, Adv.

Mr. Aditya P. Khanna, Adv.

Mr. Iftekhar Ahmad, Adv.

Ms. Garima Tyagi, Adv.

Ms. Arushi Jindal, Adv.

Ms. Neelakshi Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Anurag Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Ritvik Bharadwaj, Adv.

Dr. Sarvam Ritam Khare, AOR For Petitioner(s) in Item 45 Mr. Shashank Deo Sudhi, Adv.

Mr. Aru Prakash, Adv.

Mr. Yadav Narender Singh, AOR By Courts Motion, AOR Mr. Dharmendra Kumar Sinha, AOR Mr. Subodh Kumar Pathak, Adv.

Mr. Satish Khandwa, Adv.

Mr. Pawan Kumar Sharma, Adv.

M/S. Ram Sankar & Co, AOR Petitioner-in-person For Respondent(s) : Mr. K.M. Natraj, ASG Ms. Alka Agrawal, Adv.

Mr. R.R. Rajesh, Adv.

Mr. N. Vishakamurthy, AOR Mr. Parmanand Pandey, AOR Mr. Jogy Scaria, AOR Mrs. Nandini Gore, AOR Ms. Aparna Jha, AOR Mr. Venkateswara Rao Anumolu, AOR 30 Mr. Vikas Upadhyay, AOR Ms. Ankita Kashyap, Adv.

Mr. Ranveer Singh, Adv.

Mr. Shiva Narang, Adv.

Mr. Alok Shankar, Adv.

Mr. Ashwani Kumar Dubey, AOR Ms. Garima Sharma, Adv.

Ms. Swati Dwivedi, Adv.

Ms. Sneha Kalita, AOR Mr. H. Chandra Sekhar, AOR M/S. Venkat Palwai Law Associates, AOR Mr. Rajeev Singh, AOR Mr. Praveen Agrawal, AOR Mr. Gopal Prasad, AOR Ms. Shalya Agarwal, Adv.

Mr. Kunal Chatterji, AOR Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Adv.

Mr. Rohit Bansal, Adv.

Mr. Varij Nayan Mishra, Adv.

Mr. Amol B. Karande, AOR Mr. Y. Raja Gopala Rao, AOR Mr. Mohammed Sadique T.A., AOR Mrs. Anu K Joy, Adv.

Mr. Alim Anvar, Adv.

Mr. Santhosh K, Adv.

Mrs. Devika A.l., Adv.

Ms. Kamakshi S. Mehlwal, AOR Mr. Subhasish Mohanty, AOR M/S. Parekh & Co., AOR Mr. Shibashish Misra, AOR Mr. Manav Sabharwal, Adv.

Ms. Shivangi Gupta, Adv.

Ms. Malini Poduval, AOR Mr. Himinder Lal, AOR Ms. Manju Jetley, AOR Mr. J.n.s. Tyagi, Adv.

Mr. Mahesh Agarwal, Adv.

Mr. E. C. Agrawala, AOR M/S. Manoj Swarup And Co., AOR Mr. Suvendu Suvasis Dash, AOR 31 Mr. Mohinder Jit Singh, AOR Mr. Hardik Rupal, Adv.

Ms. Aishwarya Malhotra, Adv.

Ms. Tripta Sharma, Adv.

Ms. Lopamudra Mahapatra, Adv.

Mr. Pijush K. Roy, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Pritthish Roy, Adv.

Ms. Kakali Roy, Adv.

Mr. Rajan K. Chourasia, AOR Mr. Nischal Kumar Neeraj, AOR Mr. Amod Kumar Mishra, Adv.

Mr. Vishalmudgal, Adv.

Mr. Shafiq Khan, Adv.

Ms. Reema Roy, Adv.

Ms. Neelima Bagoria, Adv.

Mrs. Smertiy Rani, Adv.

Mrs. Sabika Ahmad, Adv.

Ms. Anjani Suri, Adv.

Ms. Lakshmi, Adv.

Ms. Banisha Verma, Adv.

Mr. Tariq Muneer, Adv.

Mrs. Raj Rani, Adv.

Ms. K. V. Bharathi Upadhyaya, AOR Mr. Sufyan Hasan, Adv.

Ms. Pritama, Adv.

Ms. Shaivani Gupta, Adv.

Ms. Hema Malik, Adv.

Dr. Sunita, Adv.

Ms. D Poornima, Adv.

Mr. Aditya Singh, AOR Mr. Shishir Pinaki, AOR Mr. Anand Nandan, Adv.

Mr. Kuldeep Mishra, Adv.

Mr. Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, AOR Mr. Deepak Goel, AOR Mr. Kamal Kumar Pandey, Adv.

Ms. Urvashi Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, AOR Mr. Karun Sharma, Adv.

Ms. Anupama Ngangom, Adv.

Ms. Rajkumari Divyasana, Adv.

Mr. Sudarshan Singh Rawat, AOR 32 Ms. Adviteeya, Adv.

Mr. Rakesh K. Sharma, AOR Mr. M. A. Chinnasamy, AOR Mrs. C Rubavathi, Adv.

Mr. C Raghavendren, Adv.

Mr. Saurabh Gupta, Adv.

Mr. Ch. Leela Sarveswar, Adv.

Mr. Amit Kumar, Adv.

Mr. P Raja Ram, Adv.

Mr. K. Gopinath, Adv.

Mr. Harvinder Chowdhury, AOR Mr. Yusuf, AOR Mr. S Prabakaran, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Naveen Murthy, Adv.

Mrs. Usha Prabakaran, Adv.

Mr. Maheswaran Prabakaran, Adv.

Dr. Ram Sankar, Adv.

Mrs. Harini Ramsankar, Adv.

Mr. Manan Kumar Mishra, Sr. Adv.

Mr. S. Prabakaran, Sr. Adv.

Ms. Radhika Gautam, AOR Mr. Anjul Dwivedi, Adv.

Mr. Harsh V. Surana, AOR Dr. Sandeep Singh, Adv.

Mr. Vikrant Rana, Adv.

Mr. K.M. Nataraj, A.S.G. Mr. Mukul Singh, Adv.

Ms. Alka Agarwal, Adv.

Mr. R.R. Rajesh, Adv.

Mr. Mohd. Akhil, Adv.

Mr. T.S. Sabarish, Adv.

Dr. N. Visakamurthy, AOR Ms. Tatini Basu, AOR Mr. Byrapaneni Suyodhan, Adv.

Ms. Obulapuram Keerthi, Adv.

Mr. K. V. Mohan, AOR Ms. Vibha Datta Makhija, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Anil Kaushik, Sr. Adv.

Mr. T. Singhdev, Adv.

Mr. Rajesh Mishra, Adv.

Mr. Tanishq Shrivatsava, Adv.

Ms. Yamini Singh, Adv.

33 Mr. Praveen Gaur, Adv.

Mr. Abhijit Chakravarty, Adv.

Mr. Bhanu Gulati, Adv.

Mr. Sourabh Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Vedant Sood, Adv.

Mr. Prateek Bhatia, AOR Mr. Nakul Dewan, Sr. Adv.

Mrs. Sumita Ray, AOR Ms. Disha Ray, Adv.

Mr. Kunal Narwal, Adv.

Ms. Vanshika Singh, Adv.

Mr. Anurag Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Sumeer Sodhi, AOR Ms. Manisha Ambwani, AOR Mr. Manish Kumar Saran, AOR Ms. Ananya Tyagi, Adv.

Mr. Aljo K. Joseph, AOR Mr. Rajesh Kumar, Adv.

Ms. Ankita Kutthi, Adv.

Mr. N Leela Vara Prasad, Adv.

Mr. Santhosh Kumar Kolkundra, Adv. Mr. Vinay Kumar Puvvala, Adv.

Mr. Saket Jee, Adv.

Mr. Siddharth Singh, Adv.

Mr. Rohit Kalra, Adv.

Mr. D S Naidu, Sr. Adv.

Mrs. Meenakshi Arora, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Rajat Kapoor, Adv.

Dr. Arvind S. Avhad, AOR Mr. Ananta Prasad Mishra, AOR Mr. Saurabh Gupta, Adv.

Mr. Jasbir Singh, Adv.

Ms. Christi Jain, AOR Mr. Mann Arora, Adv.

Mr. Harsh Jain, Adv.

Mr. Aditya Jain, Adv.

Mr. Siddharth Jain, Adv.

Mr. Om Sudhir Vidyarthi, Adv.

Mr. Anjani Kumar Mishra, AOR Mrs. Hardeep Kaur Mishra, Adv.

Mr. Praveen Mishra, Adv.

Dr. P.n. Mishra, Adv.

Mr. Rajesh Kumar Singh, Adv.

34 Mr. Krishna Gopal Mishra, Adv.

Mr. Arvind Kumar, Adv.

Mr. D. Bharat Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Aman Shukla, Adv.

Mr. M. Chandrakanth Reddy, Adv.

Mr. Siddhartha Sinha, AOR Mr. Vivek Narayan Sharma, AOR Mr. Akash Singh, Adv.

Mrs. Mahima Bhardwaj Kalucha, Adv. Mr. Adhiraj Wadhera, Adv.

Mr. Akash Pratap Singh, Adv.

Mr. Nitish Kumar Mishra, Adv.

Dr. Charanjeet Singh Chanderpal, Adv. Mr. Anil Kumar, AOR Mr. Gautam Das, AOR Mr. Shivam Kumar, Adv.

Mr. C.M. Gopal, Adv.

Mr. R.K. Padhi, Adv.

Mr. Kumar Pal, Adv.

Mr. Abanikanta Sahu, Adv.

Mr. Tarun Kant Samantaray, Adv.

Ms. Khushi Chopra, Adv.

Mr. Sanchit Garga, AOR Mr. Kunal Rana, Adv.

Mr. Shashwat Jaiswal, Adv.

Mr. Bhanu Pratap Singh, Adv.

Mr. P V Surendranath, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Biju P Raman, AOR Mr. Sawan Kumar Shukla, Adv.

Mr. John Thomas, Adv.

Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, AOR Mr. Karun Sharma, Adv.

Ms. Anupama Ngangom, Adv.

Ms. Rajkumari Divyasana, Adv.

Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR Mr. Guntur Prabhakar, AOR Mr. Narender Hooda, Sr. Adv.

Ms. Pallvi Hooda, Adv.

Mr. Shiv Bhatnagar, Adv.

Mr. Yuvraj Nandal, Adv.

Ms. Tannu, Adv.

Ms. Kavya Manuja, Adv.

Dr. Surender Singh Hooda, AOR 35 Mr. Anand Nandan, Adv.

Mr. Kuldeep Mishra, Adv.

Mr. Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, AOR Mr. Mahi Pal Singh, Adv.

Ms. Manisha Chawla, Adv.

Mr. Supriya, Adv.

Mr. Anupam Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Honey Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Santosh Kumar Jha, Adv.

Mr. Manjit Singh Gill, Adv.

Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Amit Kumar Chawla, Adv.

Mr. Akhileshwar Jha, Adv.

Ms. Swati Vishan, Adv.

Mr. Saurabh Kumar Solanki, Adv.

Mr. Hardeep, Adv.

In IA No.294408/2025 and IA No.294410/2025 Mr. Amit Pai, Adv.

Mr. Abhiyudaya Vats, Adv.

Mr. Tathagata Dutta, Adv.

Mr. Rahat Bansal, AOR For intervenor in IA No.288267/2025 Mr. Mehmood Pracha, Adv.

Mr. R.H.A. Sikander, AOR Mr. Jatin Bhatt, Adv.

For intervenor Ms. K.R. Chitra, AOR For respondent(s) in Item 45 M/S. Godavari Law Associates, AOR Respondent-in-person M/S. Ram Sankar & Co, AOR Mr. Biju P Raman, AOR Mr. Prashant Shrikant Kenjale, AOR Mr. B. Dhananjay, Adv.

Mr. Anubhav, AOR Mr. Gopal Shankar Naryan, Sr. Adv. Mr. Somanadri Goud, Adv.

Mr. Devansh Sharma, Adv.

Mr. Ravinder Kumar, Adv.

36 Ms. Anushikha Rathore, Adv.

Mr. Ponnam Mahesh Babu, Adv.

Mr. Dharmendra Kumar Sinha, AOR Mr. Subodh Kumar Pathak, Adv.

Mr. Satish Khandwa, Adv.

Mr. Pawan Kr Sharma, Adv.

Ms. Vibha Datta Makhija, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Anil Kaushik, Sr. Adv.

Mr. T. Singhdev, Adv.

Mr. Rajesh Mishra, Adv.

Mr. Tanishq Shrivatsava, Adv.

Ms. Yamini Singh, Adv.

Mr. Praveen Gaur, Adv.

Mr. Abhijit Chakravarty, Adv.

Mr. Bhanu Gulati, Adv.

Mr. Sourabh Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Vedant Sood, Adv.

Mr. Prateek Bhatia, AOR Mr. H. Chandra Sekhar, AOR Mr. D. Bharat Kumar, Adv.

Mr. M. Chandrakanth Reddy, Adv.

Mr. Siddhartha Sinha, AOR Mr. Rajat Kapoor, Adv.

Dr. Arvind S. Avhad, AOR Mr. Byrapaneni Suyodhan, Adv.

Ms. Tatini Basu, AOR Ms. Obulapuram Keerthi, Adv.

Mr. Ashok Singh, AOR Mr. Sudarshan Singh Rawat, AOR Ms. Anubha Dhulia, Adv.

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following O R D E R

1. The controversy in this batch of cases, including various applications filed from time to time, revolves around fair, transparent, and timely conduction of elections for the State Bar Councils.

2. It is not necessary for us to go into the allegations or counter-allegations made by various stakeholders. All that we take notice of is that there are twenty-three State Bar Councils in India, out of which elections to the State Bar Councils of Bihar and Chhattisgarh have already been conducted.

5. In the case of two more State Bar Councils, i.e., Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, the elections are not due till 2028 and July 2026, respectively.

8. Regardless thereto, the verification of genuineness of degrees of enrolled advocates, being a continuing process, cannot be a valid ground to keep the elections of the State Bar Councils in abeyance. In our considered opinion, the verification of law degrees in these cases is akin to the ‘delimitation’ process undertaken before the elections to various democratic institutions under our Constitution. While it is ideal that such like process is completed prior to the elections, but mere pendency thereof cannot be an impediment to conducting elections. Hence, the contention of the Bar Councils and other stakeholders that the verification 39 process remains to be completed, and therefore, the elections should be deferred till such completion, deserves to be rejected. Ordered accordingly.

(ix) Preparation and publication of provisional electoral rolls (after or pending verification) – 15 days from the date of election notification;

(x) Inviting objections to the electoral rolls – 7 days from

(i);

(xi) Publication of final electoral rolls – 7 days from (ii); 40

(xii) Filing of nominations – 7 days from (iii);

(xiii) Scrutiny of nomination documents – 2 days from (iv);

(xiv) Publication of list of candidates – 1 day from (v);

(xv) Withdrawal of candidature and publication of the final list of candidates – 3 days from (vi);

(xvi) Elections as per preferential system of votes – 20 days from (vii).

11. The entire election process, including counting of votes, shall be controlled and monitored through their direct supervision by the High-Powered Election Committees, constituted hereinafter.

VI. The State Bar Councils of Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, where the elections have already been notified, shall conclude their elections by 31.01.2026. The counting of votes and subsequent declaration of results shall, in any case, be concluded on or before 28.02.2026. The elections 41 will be conducted under the direct supervision of the High-Powered Election Committee – Phase I, comprising the following three members:

(iv) Justice Ravi Ranjan, former Chief Justice, Jharkhand High Court (Chairperson);

(v) Justice A.R. Masoodi, former Judge, Allahabad High Court; and

(vi) Justice Rekha Palli, former Judge, Delhi High Court.

VII. In the second phase, the elections of the State Bar Councils of Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Tripura shall be conducted. The entire election programme, including counting of votes and subsequent declaration of results shall, in any case, be concluded on or before 28.02.2026. The elections in Andhra Pradesh and Tripura will be conducted under the direct supervision of the High- Powered Election Committee – Phase II, comprising the following three members:

(iv) Justice Virender Singh, former Chief Justice, Jharkhand High Court (Chairperson); 42

(v) Justice Chander Shekhar, former Judge, Delhi High Court; and

(vi) Justice D.C. Chaudhary, former Judge, Himachal Pradesh High Court.

We are informed that, so far as Delhi is concerned, a Special Committee has been constituted to conduct elections to the State Bar Council of Delhi. The three- member Special Committee includes two eminent Senior Advocates, one of whom is also serving as Additional Solicitor General of India. We see no reason to interfere in the composition of that Committee, and it shall perform the same function as envisaged for High- Powered Election Committees in this order. At the same time, in light of the directions passed hereinabove, we impress upon the Special Committee that it may seek guidance from the High-Powered Election Supervision Committee for ensuring fair and transparent elections. VIII. In the third phase, the elections of the State Bar Councils of Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Punjab & Haryana, Rajasthan, and West Bengal shall be conducted. The entire election programme, including counting of votes and subsequent declaration of results shall, in any case, be concluded on or before 15.03.2026. In the 43 interest of effective supervision, the elections will be conducted under the direct supervision of the following Committees:

(A) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase III-A, for Gujarat and Jharkhand, comprising Justice Siddharth Mridul, former Judge, Delhi High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate; (B) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase III-B, for Karnataka and West Bengal, comprising Justice D. Krishnakumar, former Chief Justice, Manipur High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate; and (C) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase III-C, for Punjab & Haryana, comprising Justice Ranjit Singh, former Judge, Punjab & Haryana High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate.

IX. In the fourth phase, the elections for the State Bar Councils of Maharashtra & Goa, Meghalaya, and Uttarakhand shall be conducted. The entire election programme, including counting of votes and subsequent declaration of results shall, in any case, be concluded on or before 31.03.2026. In the interest of effective supervision, the 44 elections will be conducted under the direct supervision of the following Committees:

(A) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase IV-A, for Maharashtra & Goa, comprising Justice K.R. Shriram, former Chief Justice, Madras and Rajasthan High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate; (B) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase IV-B, for Meghalaya, comprising Justice Arup K. Goswami, former Chief Justice, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate; and (C) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase IV-C, for Uttarakhand, comprising Justice Rajiv Sharma, former Judge, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab & Haryana High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate.

X. In the fifth and the last phase, the elections of the State Bar Councils of Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, and Tamil Nadu & Puducherry shall be conducted. The entire election programme, including counting of votes and subsequent declaration of results shall, in any 45 case, be concluded on or before 30.04.2026. In the interest of effective supervision, the elections will be conducted under the direct supervision of the following Committees:

(A) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase V-A, for Assam and Manipur, comprising Justice Arup K. Goswami, former Chief Justice, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate;

(B) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase V-B, for Himachal Pradesh, comprising Justice J.R. Midha, former Judge, Delhi High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate; and (C) The High-Powered Election Committee – Phase V-C, for Kerala and Tamil Nadu & Puducherry, comprising Justice Rajiv Shakdher, former Chief Justice, Himachal Pradesh High Court (Chairperson), and 2 members who he may nominate.

13. Having directed so, we hasten to add that the above stipulations would not be so construed that the elections of State Bar Council should be necessarily prolonged till the final prescribed dates. In case the High-Powered Election Committee comes 46 to a conclusion that it would be desirable as well as feasible to conduct the elections as per a preponed schedule, subject to the time-line laid down hereinabove illustratively, it may, through an order, so direct.

(iv) Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, former Judge, Supreme Court of India (Chairperson);

(v) Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, former Chief Justice, Punjab & Haryana High Court; and

(vi) Shri V. Giri, Senior Advocate.

15. We also deem it appropriate to issue certain directions in order to facilitate the Bar Council of India and the State Bar Councils for an expeditious conclusion of the verification process. In this vein, all the Universities/deemed Universities/Law 47 Universities are directed to depute a special team of their officers, which shall include a senior faculty member of the Law Department/Faculty, for verification of the degrees that may have been received from the State Bar Councils. Such verification shall be done within a period of one week from the date of receipt of the degree. However, the Universities shall not raise any additional demand of costs or fees for verification merely because this Court has directed them to conduct the verification process in a prioritised manner.

17. However, where, on verification, a law degree has been found to be fake/not genuine/unrecognised, such degree holder shall not be permitted to participate in the election process.

19. During the course of hearing, it is seen that several lawyers have individual and varied grievances. We are afraid such individual grievances cannot be addressed in these proceedings. Liberty is, hence, granted to them to apply before the High-Powered Election Committee(s) for redressal of their individual issue(s).

24. List on 06.01.2026.

(NITIN TALREJA)                    (PREETHI T.C.)
ASTT. REGISTRAR-cum-PS           ASSISTANT REGISTRAR




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