Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Wednesday effectively extended the ‘one bar, one vote’ principle to the upcoming District Bar Association (DBA) elections.A division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode clarified that advocates who have voted in the High Court Bar Association (HCBA) elections will not be eligible to participate in the DBA polls scheduled for April 24.The direction came while hearing a petition filed by senior counsel Mohan Sudame and others seeking strict enforcement of the principle. In October last year, the high court had directed advocates to submit undertakings declaring they would vote in only one bar association election.Pursuant to the order, 1,507 advocates submitted undertakings opting to vote in the HCBA elections, of which 1,444 were validated by the HCBA election committee. The court had also cautioned that any violation would invite action.During Wednesday’s hearing, the bench noted that while its earlier directive was interim and the broader issue remains under consideration, immediate enforcement was necessary with the DBA elections approaching. It held that excluding HCBA voters from the DBA electoral roll was essential to uphold the principle in the current cycle.The issue had earlier reached the Supreme Court, which dismissed a challenge to the high court’s directive, lending weight to the ‘one bar, one vote’ framework.The court has posted the matter for further hearing after the summer vacation.Akshay Sudame appeared for the petitioners, while advocates Shyam and Sahil Dewani represented the Family Court Bar Association.The ruling is expected to significantly alter the DBA voters’ list and could influence the election outcome, given the large number of lawyers who have already voted in the HCBA polls.
