2 months ago
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The fig of lawyers eligible to ballot successful the upcoming elections to Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTNP), being held connected March 30 aft 7 years, has accrued to 1,00,539. In the 2018 elections, 37,474 retired of astir 50,000 eligible lawyers had voted.
A Supreme Court-constituted High Powered Election Committee (HPEC) comprising Himachal Pradesh High Court erstwhile Chief Justice Rajiv Shakdher, elder counsel E. Omprakash and advocator Amit George has besides recovered 18,515 lawyers had got enrolled with the BCTNP successful the past 3 years.
These 18,515 lawyers had cleared the All India Bar Examination (AIBE), conducted by the Bar Council of India (BCI), but they had not go members of immoderate of the advocates/bar associations affiliated with BCTNP. Nevertheless, they had expressed their tendency to ballot for the BCTNP elections astatine antithetic associations of their choice.
The Supreme Court had appointed the HPEC connected November 11, 2025, for the intent of conducting elections to the BTCNP and the committee, aft extended groundwork, appointed Madras High Court erstwhile justice K.N. Basha arsenic the Returning Officer and issued the predetermination notification connected January 31, 2026.
Since the Supreme Court had ordered 30% preservation for women lawyers, it was decided that 7 retired of the 25 members of BCTNP should beryllium women. It was further decided to behaviour predetermination for 23 members, including 5 women, and to co-opt 2 much women lawyers from the BCI.
The HPEC besides decided to found 168 polling booths crossed Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and released the booth omniscient last voters database connected February 28, 2026. The Madras High Court field would service arsenic the largest polling booth wherever a immense fig of 28,180 lawyers were expected to formed their votes.
Apart from this, polling booths would beryllium established astatine Egmore, Saidapet and George Town tribunal campuses arsenic good successful Chennai. Madurai would person the 2nd highest fig of voters with 9,294 lawyers having been recovered eligible to ballot from 7 antithetic polling booths dispersed crossed the district.
In Coimbatore territory 5,244 lawyers person been recovered eligible to ballot from 4 polling booths located successful Coimbatore city, Pollachi, Mettupalayam and Valparai. In Tiruchi territory 3,431 lawyers had recovered spot successful the last voters database for exercising their franchise from Lalgudi, Manapparai, Musiri, Thuraiyur and Tiruchi city.
As acold arsenic the Union Territory of Puducherry was concerned, lone 1,683 lawyers would beryllium eligible to ballot astatine the Bar associations successful Puducherry and Karaikal. The HPEC had besides notified a codification of behaviour which prohibits the contesting candidates from utilizing the instrumentality students to canvass for votes.
“Candidates recovered distributing wealth oregon offering allurements successful immoderate signifier (including arranging parties) to garner the votes oregon recovered utilizing different objectionable means to procure votes volition beryllium disqualified, albeit successful accordance with the law,” the codification of behaviour notified connected February 28, 2026 reads.
It besides states: “Candidates shall not allude to immoderate governmental oregon spiritual affiliations oregon notation to their caste oregon community. Candidates shall guarantee that they bash not advert to their governmental oregon spiritual affiliations oregon caste oregon assemblage successful people and physics media and/or societal media platform(s).”
Further, “activities specified arsenic sloganeering, processions, bursting crackers, organisation of sweets, edibles, the usage of loudspeakers, banners and causing hindrances successful ingress and egress to the Bar Council bureau are strictly prohibited. Any infraction shall beryllium viewed seriously, and due enactment volition beryllium taken, arsenic per the law,” the notification reads.
Filing of nominations began connected March 1, 2026 and ended connected March 7, 2026. During the period, the Returning Officer had received 151 nominations which would beryllium taken up for scrunity connected March 10, 2026 earlier publishing the last database of candidates connected the aforesaid day. The results of the predetermination would beryllium declared connected April 3, 2026.
