Bar assn poll: Nomination of presidential candidate rejected, lawyers express outrage

A major controversy has erupted ahead of the annual elections of the Ludhiana District Bar Association, state’s largest bar association, scheduled for February 28. The nomination of Vipin Saggar, a candidate for the president’s post, was rejected by returning officer Lokesh Batta, triggering widespread resentment among lawyers.

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In protest, lawyers staged a sit-in outside the Bar Association office and raised slogans against the returning officer. The lawyers alleged that the decision was part of a pre-planned conspiracy to oust Vipin Saggar from the electoral race.

Following the decision, taken just three days before the elections, an emergency General House meeting was called under the chairmanship of Bar Association secretary outgoing Parminder Singh Laddi. Former presidents and senior lawyers present at the meeting accused the returning officer and his team of biased conduct and announced their removal from the office. It was also decided that former presidents and secretaries of the association would now oversee the election process.

According to sources, some other candidates for the president’s post had filed a complaint with the RO, alleging that Saggar has violated the Bar Council rules by depositing annual fee of several lawyers to get votes. They claimed it was an attempt to influence the election process.

As per the RO, initially, a mutual agreement was reached between candidates, under which Saggar agreed in writing to exclude 180 votes from the counting process. However, the Bar Council rejected the settlement and directed RO to decide on complaints as per the rules.

Following this, he summoned all candidates, heard their objections and on Tuesday announced the rejection of Saggar’s nomination. As the news spread, lawyers staged a demonstration outside the association office.

After the development, former presidents Harish Rai Dhanda, Paropkar Singh Ghuman, Kamaljit Sharma, Naval Kishore Chhibber, and other senior lawyers condemned the decision and termed it as autocratic and unjust. They stated that conducting free and fair elections in such an environment was impossible.

Additionally, another meeting of lawyers was held at 4 pm, in which it was decided that a fresh General House meeting would be convened on February 27. The newly appointed returning officers and assistant officers would also meet to devise the next election strategy.

Meanwhile, Saggar has challenged the rejection of his nomination in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The hearing on his petition is scheduled for February 27. Now, the entire legal fraternity is closely watching the High Court’s decision and the lawyers’ meeting on February 27.