Supreme Court approves BCI rule allowing Bar Association office-bearers to contest State Bar Council polls

On 24 April 2026, a Division Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi approved the Bar Council of India's amendment to Chapter III of the BCI Uniform Rules and Mandatory Guidelines for Elections of Bar Councils, 2016. The amendment, which came into effect on 21 April 2026, ends a long-running disqualification of sitting office-bearers of Bar Associations from contesting State Bar Council elections.

Under the older rule, an office-bearer of a Bar Association — president, secretary, treasurer, etc. — had to resign before filing a State Bar Council nomination. The amended framework now permits them to contest, subject to a 'one representative post at a time' undertaking filed with the nomination. If elected to a State Bar Council, the candidate must vacate the Bar Association post; if not elected, they can continue.

The case (Shyam Lal Thakur v. Bar Council of India) had been pending for years; nominations of several Bar Association office-bearers had been rejected in earlier state Bar Council polls (notably Madhya Pradesh) on the strength of the older rule. The Court found 'no justification' in a blanket bar and held that the amended rule strikes the right balance between voter choice and preventing concurrent power-holding.

Exam angle: The Bar Council of India is a statutory body constituted under the Advocates Act, 1961. Section 4 sets up BCI; Section 3 sets up State Bar Councils. BCI prescribes professional and ethical standards, recognises law universities for the All India Bar Examination (AIBE), and acts as the appellate body in disciplinary matters. Note: Surya Kant was sworn in as the 53rd Chief Justice of India in November 2025.