New Delhi, October 26 — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to hold its special general body meeting on November 2 on election reforms, but directed that the outcome of the voting not be declared, LiveLaw reported.

Source: LiveLaw

A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed that the result be kept in a sealed envelope and produced before the court. Bar and Bench, reporting the same hearing, said the court passed the directions after senior advocate Jaideep Gupta raised concerns over the proposed meeting.

Source: Bar and Bench

The November 2 meeting is to consider two resolutions that are already before the court — one on proximity-card entry into the Supreme Court premises and another concerning veteran members of the Bar — ahead of the next hearing on November 5, according to both reports.

Clarifying the purpose of the proposed reforms, CJI Surya Kant said the idea was to strengthen genuine practitioners. "The idea is not to take away rights. Rather, the idea is to strengthen the hands of the Bar. Those who are genuinely regular visitors to the Supreme Court, having an interest in the Bar, the institution and the system, we want to strengthen their hands. All those outsiders who have nothing to do with the profession should be isolated and excluded," the Chief Justice observed, as reported by both LiveLaw and Bar and Bench.

SCBA president and senior advocate Pradeep Rai told the court the association's executive committee had preferred consulting its members before forming an opinion, the reports said. The court asked all parties, including the SCBA leadership and the court-appointed experts, to remain present and assist it on November 5.

The directions were passed in Supreme Court Bar Association v. B.D. Kaushik, in which the court is considering reforms to the SCBA's election process. In an order on May 29, the court had prescribed revised eligibility criteria for SCBA elections following recommendations of a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice L. Nageswara Rao, Bar and Bench reported.