Madras High Court stays Madras Bar Association elections

The Madras High Court on Friday stayed the Madras Bar Association (MBA) elections that was slated to be held in August (L Chandrakumar v. Registrar of Societies and ors)..Justices N Kirubakaran and R Pongiappan passed the order on a writ petition moved by an advocate who had raised a grievance that due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, many MBA members were not able to pay the subscription fee..Owing to this, their names were not added to the voter’s list. Further, given the pandemic situation, concern was also raised that many could not come to vote for the elections. .The Court on Friday ordered:" ...there shall be an order of interim stay as prayed for. The Ad-hoc Committee, which is administering the Bar Association, shall continue to administer the same, until further orders.".The petitioner had urged the Court to direct the MBA to conduct the election only after the restoration of normalcy..It was pointed out that the MBA has not been opened for members since it was closed due to the pandemic in March 2020..While so, it was recounted that on June 25, 2021, the MBA had called on members to pay the subscription fee for the year ending March 31, 2021 before June 30,2021, failing which the members who have not paid the arrears would not be allowed to vote for the elections..Given the pandemic situation and the subsequent closure of the MBA, the petitioner contended that it was highly uncharitable to direct the members to pay the subscription fee which runs into thousands of rupees..The last date for payment was extended till July 7, it was also noted. Thereafter, the voter’s list was published, containing the names of only 776 members, the petitioner said. On the other hand, the total association strength is 1,280, the petitioner highlighted. .As such, it was contended that “it is clear that more than 45% of the members have been denied their voting rights by the arbitrary exercise of the posers of the 2nd respondent (MBA, represented by its Ad-Hoc Committee) who are holding the post only for 4 months).”.The petitioner added:“The practicing lawyers who are members of the Association cannot be compelled to pay the subscription in the pandemic situation for the purpose of claiming their voting rights…. The Madras Bar Association being an organisation meant for the welfare of the lawyers should stand as an example in the present pandemic situation and should not rush to conduct the election for the year 2021-2021 in a hurried manner.”.The petition had also alleged that “there are certain vested interest in the Bar Association who wanted to conduct physical voting in the pandemic situation by preventing more than 45% members from exercising their franchise on the sole ground that they have not paid the subscription for the previous yearning 31.3.2021 before 7.7.2021.”.When the MBA has not been opened for over a year, the Association should not insist on payment of subscription fee from its members “that too when the pandemic situation is continuing and most of the lawyers have lost their earning affecting their livelihood”, the petitioner had submitted..[Read Order]