Bar council poll: Saggar elected president, Bedi vice-president
The annual District Bar Association (DBA) election witnessed a massive voter turnout of 83.38%, with Vipan Saggar winning the post of president, securing the highest number of votes. However, despite a decisive victory, his official declaration as DBA president remains pending due to an order from the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana.
Saggar’s candidacy was initially cancelled by the returning officer following a complaint by a rival contestant regarding alleged irregularities. However, the special committee of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana intervened on February 26, overturning the order and allowing him to contest. The council’s decision came with the rider that the final result would be subject to an inquiry into allegations that Saggar had deposited subscription fee of several lawyers. The matter is now scheduled for hearing before the council on March 6, after which the official result will be declared.
Despite legal hurdles and opposition from rival camps, Saggar’s popularity soared, with lawyers cutting across factional lines to vote in his favour. His supporters described his victory as a reflection of the legal fraternity’s trust and a response to attempts to sideline him from the election process.
In a landslide win, Saggar secured 1,749 votes, leaving his closest rival, Gurpreet Singh Arora, far behind with just 404 votes. Other candidates in the fray included TPS Dhaliwal (194 votes), Harinder Singh Narang (92 votes), Sanjeev Malhotra (60 votes), and Harvinder Singh (6 votes). Of the 3,021 registered voters, 2,519 exercised their franchise, while seven votes were declared invalid.
Veteran members of the legal community, including five former DBA presidents — Harish Rai Dhanda, Hemant Kalia, Parupkar Singh Ghumman, Naval Kishore Chhibber, and Gurkirpal Singh Gill — welcomed Saggar’s victory.
This year’s elections marked a shift towards youth leadership, with the legal fraternity placing its trust in the next generation. Many lawyers viewed this as a move towards a more dynamic and reform-oriented Bar association. Interestingly, this year’s election campaign was far less extravagant compared to previous years, with a focus on real issues rather than lavish spending.
For the vice-president’s post, Gagandeep Singh Bedi emerged victorious, defeating his closest rival Anil Saggar by 214 votes. The final tally is as follows: Gagandeep Singh Bedi (993 votes), Anil Saggar (779 votes), Bhatia (509 votes), Charanjit Singh Channa (93 votes), Gursimar Singh Alag (34 votes), Rakesh Kumar Gupta (64 votes).
Himanshu Walia has been elected as DBA secretary. He defeated his nearest rival candidate Harsh Sharma with 658 votes. Himanshu got 1,141 votes, whereas Harsh got 483, Rajinder Singh Bhandari 465 and Hariom Jindal 407 votes.
The elections were conducted under the supervision of returning officer Lokesh Batta, assisted by a 50-member team of lawyers. Polling was held from 9 am to 4.30 pm across six booths. While the key office-bearers have been elected, the counting for the six posts of executive members will take place tomorrow at 11 am.
