High Court issues Notice to the BCI and State Bar Council

Cuttack: The High Court has issued notices to the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the State Bar Council in response to the State Bar Council elections. Justice Bishwanath Rath on Wednesday delivered the verdict after hearing a petition filed by Chinmay Mohanty, former chairman of the state bar council and Sitanshu Mohan Dwivedi, a former member.

The next hearing is set for August 16.

The petitioner stated in the petition that Article 8 of the Advocate Act states that the term of office of the elected members of the State Bar Council is five years. According to the state government's gazette notification, on May 5, 2014, 25 members were elected to the State Legislative Council.

Their term lasted until May 4, 2019. The state bar council has been set to issue election notices for six months from now, but for some reason it has not. As a result, 50,000 lawmakers have been denied justice in the state's Bar Council for two years. The petitioner, therefore, filed a petition in the High Court on the 23rd requesting that the constitutional facilities of the lawyers and the expedition of the State Bar Council election process be expedited.