Deepak Hooda declared president of Rohtak Bar Association amid controversy

The Election Committee for the District Bar Association Rohtak has declared Deepak Hooda as the new president of the association.

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This follows the ineligibility of another candidate and outgoing president Arvind Sheoran to contest the election, due to the suspension of his license by the Disciplinary Committee of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana.

The election, initially scheduled for February 28, was postponed until further orders. Only two candidates – Arvind Sheoran and Deepak Hooda – were vying for the president position.

"On March 8, Deepak Hooda submitted a letter to the Election Committee requesting to be declared the winner unopposed, citing the suspension of Sheoran's license. The Committee sought an explanation from Sheoran regarding the suspension. While Sheoran responded, it was deemed unsatisfactory. Consequently, the committee declared Deepak Hooda as the president of the Bar Association, Rohtak," as confirmed by Gugan Singh, Chief Election Officer, to The Tribune.

He stated that the date for elections for other posts within the District Bar Association would be announced soon. Several local advocates have raised concerns regarding this development, questioning the legality of the Election Committee's actions.

Naveen Singhal, a senior advocate, alleged that the election process has been controversial from the outset due to the Election Committee's failure to adhere to proper procedures, adding that, "Nominations were solicited without finalising the voter list, and names were added and removed from both the candidate list and the voter list arbitrarily. The candidatures were accepted during scrutiny without objections, and final nominations were confirmed on February 14."

Singhal further claimed that since new names were added to the voter list after the nominations closed, fresh nominations should have been invited to accommodate the new voters.

As the Election Committee had already postponed the election, it cannot declare a winner under these circumstances. He asserted that the election must be either rescheduled or reprocessed, following the established rules.

The Chief Election Officer has refuted these allegations, stating that all procedures were conducted according to the rules.