SCBA Election 2024 Today; Will Kapil Sibal Entry Change The Dynamics?
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) will go to polls on May 16, today. With Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal’s last-minute entry into the fray for the post of President, the battle has now taken up a political colour.
In the recent hearing, a division bench comprising of Justices Surya Kant and KV Vishwanathan prioritised women’s research in leadership. Hence, minimum one-third of seats in the nine-member Executive Committee, two out of six posts of Senior Executive Members, and at least one post of Office Bearers is reserved for women.
One of the eligibility requirements to contest for the post is that the candidates contesting the election must have five years standing at the Bar to field to be an Office Bearer and three years standing at the Bar to be an Executive Member. However, this requirement has been static for several years and thus many have come expressing their dissatisfaction.
“The SCBA is meant for giving voice to those who practise in the Supreme Court, so only regular practitioners with a minimum number of appearances should be eligible to contest for the various posts,” the Senior Executive Member said, reports Supreme Court Observer.
Kapil Sibal will challenge the incumbent Adish Aggarwala and four others- Pradeep Kumar Rai, Priya Hingorani, Tripurari Ray and Neeraj Srivastava.
Many are pleased with Sibal’s candidateship, standing for the election after a gap of two decades, has said that he is a very respected person in the Bar- a stalwart and a regular practitioner. Meanwhile, few others were not optimistic about Sibal’s chances. “If the Bar has to be effective, Kapil Sibal should be there as President,” Advocate Padmanabhan said while speaking to Supreme Court Observer. “But there is stiff opposition to his candidature. The Bar is no longer the same which he had led earlier for three terms two decades ago.”
Priya Hingorani, is yet another contender, who is now relying on her previous work as Honorary Secretary for three years and Vice President for two years. When Sibal’s announcement came a day before nomination, she too admitted that his candidateship had changed the dynamics of the election.
