The Delhi High Court has dismissed an appeal challenging the seat allocation in the Bar Council of Delhi Elections, 2026, where the petitioner sought reservation of the remaining seats for advocates with less than ten years of practice, contending that the existing structure disadvantaged junior lawyers.
The Bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Judstice Tejas Karia upheld the earlier decision of sigle judge bench which had rejected the plea holding that there is no vested right for junior advocates to claim reservation in the remaining seats under the Advocates Act, 1961.
The Court held that the relief sought by the appellant could not be granted as it would effectively result in complete reservation of all posts in the Bar Council of Delhi. It clarified that while 50% of seats are reserved for advocates with over ten years of practice under the Advocates Act and 30% for women advocates pursuant to Supreme Court directions inYogamaya M.G. v. Union of India, W.P.(C) 581/2024, the remaining 20% cannot be treated as reserved for junior advocates. Such an interpretation, the Court observed, would be contrary to the statutory framework and impermissible in law.
The Bench further noted that the petition was not maintainable in light of directions issued by the Supreme Court in M. Varadhan v. Union of India & Anr, Writ Petition (Civil) 1319/2023 governing Bar Council elections, which require grievances to be addressed through designated election committees rather than through writ jurisdiction.
It was also observed that the petitioner had approached the Court belatedly after participating in the election process, thereby attracting the bar of delay and laches. Accordingly, the Court found no grounds to interfere and dismissed the appeal.
Appearances
Appellant- in-person
Respondents- Mr. Preetpal Singh, Ms. Tanupreet Kaur, Ms. Medha Sharma, Ms. Simran Kumar, Ms. Pooja and Mr. Gaurav, Advocates for BCI.
