High-voltage drama over lawyers’ body poll, results declared 'without voting'
Bar Council suspends acting president’s licence amid ongoing legal battle
Karnal, Updated At : 07:01 AM Mar 01, 2025 IST
Advocates during the District Bar Association elections in Karnal on Friday. Tribune photo
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The District Bar Association (DBA) elections in Karnal turned chaotic on Friday as conflicting factions clashed over the voting process. One group, led by acting DBA president advocate Gopal Chauhan, postponed the elections and appointed a new Returning Officer (RO) for rescheduling, while another faction, under advocate Vinay Bansal, who was appointed as RO by the Bar Council Punjab and Haryana, declared results without a single vote being cast, citing lack of opposition for key positions.
The turmoil began over an embezzlement complaint against outgoing DBA president advocate Sandeep Choudhary regarding funds for the under-construction advocate chambers' building. The Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana barred him from contesting elections for three years. Though Choudhary challenged the ruling before the Bar Council of India and temporarily won his right to contest, the complainant escalated the matter to the high court, which upheld the Punjab and Haryana Bar Council’s decision, disqualifying him again.
Despite the legal uncertainty, the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana appointed advocate Vinay Bansal as RO and advocate Rohit Sharma as ARO to oversee the elections. Bansal defended the move, saying, "We conducted the elections as per the Bar Council’s directions. Since there was only one candidate for each post, we have declared the results."
As per the results announced by Bansal, Surjeet Singh Mandhan was appointed president, Nitin Bhardwaj vice-president, Naveen Kumar Rana general secretary and Sangeeta Rani joint secretary. The treasurer post remained vacant due to a lack of candidates.
However, advocate Gopal Chauhan and his faction rejected the results, calling them a bogus election process and convening a general house meeting at the Bar office today. The assembly backed the postponement of elections and appointed advocate Munish Lather as RO for fresh polls. In response, the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana suspended Chauhan’s licence.
"During the general house meeting, I appointed an RO and ARO for rescheduling elections. I will challenge the suspension of my licence in the Bar Council of India," Chauhan said.
Meanwhile, advocate Choudhary vowed to challenge the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s ruling in the Supreme Court. "I stand by the DBA Karnal general house decision and will fight this case in the apex court," he said.
The elections, originally scheduled for February 28, had two presidential candidates — Sandeep Choudhary and Surjit Singh Mandhan — along with multiple candidates vying for other positions. However, the unfolding legal battle and leadership conflict have now plunged the DBA Karnal elections into uncertainty.
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