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election

18 May 2016

The Election Commission's two identical orders, postponing assembly elections in the two constituencies of Thanjavur and Aravakurichi in Tamil Nadu, makes for some strange reading.

11 December 2015

Toilet election law not arbitrary, holds SCIn a judgment that is sure to surprise many, Justice J Chelameswar of the Supreme Court has held that arbitrariness cannot be a ground to strike down a law.

09 October 2015

Arguments in Rajbala vs State of Haryana] began in Court No.6 before justices J Chelameswar and AM Sapre on Wednesday, 7 October with petitioners’ counsel, Kirti Singh making her submissions first. She was followed by senior advocates, Sanjay Parikh and Indira Jaising on 8 October. Indira Jaising, who began her arguments at 2 p.m. was on her legs, when the Court rose for the day at 4 p.m.

02 October 2015

A Supreme Court bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C Pant today invoked Sir Winston Churchill through late Justice VR Krishna Iyer, to direct the High Court of Manipur at Imphal to decide expeditiously the election petition against Mairembam Prithviraj, elected from the Moirang assembly constituency of Bishnupur district, Manipur, in the election held on 28 January 2012.

16 May 2014

The Mail Today, said that "sources" have told it that the BJP government's favourites for the job of attorney general would be senior advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi (of course, the paper had made the same prediction already a month ago, when it also added that Ranjit Kumar was in the running, and that Salve was the top contender). A "top source" also told the DNA two days ago that Salve and Rohatgi were the top contenders.

According to the Mail's report, Kumar and Gujarat advocate general Kamal Trivedi are first picks for the post of solicitor general, if the government resets its legal adviser roster, currently headed by AG Goolam Vahanvati and solicitor general Mohan Parasaran, as is customary.

05 May 2014

The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition by ex-Maharashstra chief minister Ashok Chavan into whether the Election Commission can probe "paid news" allegations in cases where the expense was not accounted for in candidates' election returns.

The bench of justices Surinder Singh Nijjar and Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla said that the Election Commission would hear the complaint for 45 days daily. A rival had alleged in 2009 that Chavan had paid for a supplement in a Marathi daily but had not disclosed the expense in the returns, which Chavan and the paper deny, with Chavan having approached the Delhi high court for a stay of the EC case in 2010, which was declined [IANS]

16 April 2014

lawyers-voting-poll Legally India’s informal online poll from last week saw 629 readers cast their virtual vote when asked: Who do you want as your next government.

10 April 2014

As polls kicked off in Delhi today we asking, who do lawyers and, more importantly, Legally India readers, want as India’s next government? The outgoing Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman (as “a representative of 1.7m lawyers”), already said he wants you to vote Modi. But what do you want? Have your say here, anonymously, in the poll or comments. [Compare manifestos / Congress law record]

07 April 2014

PromisesDespite the BCI chairman’s recent ringing personal but apparently representative endorsement of Narendra Modi, lawyers will have to make their own choice this election. LI tries to help.

05 April 2014

BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said that he supported Narendra Modi’s bid to become India’s next PM.

17 December 2013

PH ParekhSenior advocate Pravin Parekh has won the election for president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) for the sixth time last night, after he did not run last year.

12 December 2013

KhoslaFormer Delhi Bar Association president Rajiv Khosla explained his success in the Supreme Court in his battle against Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) president AS Chandhiok in the now-postponed DHCBA elections.

04 December 2013

DHCBA optionsWith the courts closed as much of Delhi voted today, the Delhi high court is reconsidering former DBA president Rajiv Khosla’s plea against election rule amendments barring him from the 13 December DHCBA polls.

27 September 2013

Today’s landmark judgment by the Supreme Court on the petition of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has for the first time given the Indian voter the right to reject all candidates contesting an election, reported the PTI.

The voter can now mark the “None of the Above” (NOTA) option that the apex court mandated should be present on ballot papers and in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The bench did not say what the consequence would be if NOTA votes outnumbered those received by actual candidates.

30 May 2011

The contentious Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) election has now been challenged in the Delhi High Court, claiming that the use of electronic voting machines was unconstitutional and the election results invalid. This follows incumbent candidate Ram Jethmalani having strongly questioned his defeat at the hands of PH Parekh in mid-May.

17 January 2011

Less than three-year-old firm RDA Legal has re-branded to PXV Law Partners and started an office in Mumbai by relocating its newly elected managing partner Rohit Das, while hiring three lateral senior associates from Amarchand, AZB and P&A as lockstep partners.

02 March 2010

bombay-high-court-ovalThe preliminary count for the Maharashtra & Goa Bar Council election has completed with five clear front-runner candidates, although one in ten ballot papers have been invalidated amid a last-minute Supreme Court order.

04 December 2009

LuthraLuthra-Vijay-SondhiLuthra & Luthra billings will have seen a dent on Wednesday as a legion of the firm's lawyers patrolled the Delhi High Court during the Delhi Bar Council elections garnering last-minute support for their candidate Vijay Sondhi (pictured).
Contesting lawyers, commuters and litigants will also now breathe a sigh of relief with the close of polling on Wednesday.

The Delhi Bar Council elections reportedly led to severe traffic congestions and adjournments in and around the courts on Tuesday and Wednesday, as voter turnout spiked by 50 per cent compared to the 13,500 who voted five years ago.
Picking up the new voters was therefore the prime directive for the 129 candidates, of whom only 25 will make it onto the executive of the Delhi Bar Council.

Luthra & Luthra litigation partner Vijay Sondhi - as a first time candidate and as the only law firmite standing in Delhi -  will have been eying the new voters particularly.

He said on Wednesday: "I am relaxed now, but the elections are not over and done with… The counting process starts tomorrow [3 December] and it is a round-the-clock process which lasts a 4-5 days."

Hoping to win, Sondhi noted: "I am positive, all the law firms wanted their legal representative. SILF [Society of Indian Law Firms] had passed a resolution selecting me as an official candidate. I enjoyed the support of both law firms and lawyers that have been litigating with me for 20 years now. Each and every one of them has been a pillar of support for me."

However, privately several Delhi lawyers were doubtful that the election would swing in Sondhi's favour, despite reporting a large number of Luthra lawyers on site and spotting several law firm lawyers.
Sondhi remained optimistic. "All my friends and well-wishers worked tirelessly and the last few weeks were especially hectic.
"We're not politicians so we had to work at the ground level. Small things were missing like we didin't have any presence outside the court like other candidates had put up their tents, desks, tables and chairs. At 9:15 we sent some people to arrange all of that."
Sondhi added: "We want our professional bodies to be run by professionals, professional practising lawyers not by politicians."

However, he said that the elections were a good learning experience despite facing procedural difficulties.

One law firm associate said that the election was smoothly organised and that voting queues were only around 20 minutes in the morning.
Sondhi had expressed fears before the election that long queues would turn law firm voters off. Results of our poll too suggested that a large number of law firmites were apathetic about the elections and would not bother to vote.

The first phase of election registered 11,800 votes in the Delhi High Court on 1 December and 9,000 lawyers in Tis Hazari on 2 December totalling 20,800 out of 41,400 lawyers who were entitled to vote.

The Bar Council of India is a statutory body which consists of elected members from various state bar councils.
The Bar Council of Delhi's current chairman, Ved Prakash Sharma told Legally India that he was satisfied with the way elections were conducted and noted: "It would have not been possible without the support and supervision of the returning officer, retired justice S K Mahajan, who was also assisted by three member team of advocates Sanjay Jain, Maninder Singh and vice president of Delhi High Court Bar Association, Kirti Uppal."

Sharma added: "100 staff members from the High Court, 20 people from the election commissioners office and 50 advocates helped in organising the elections."
"We will continue our agenda of ensuring the welfare of lawyers through measures like providing group insurance and medical facilities over and above working towards the reforming the system." 
He added that election result would not be out before the end of next week.

The 25 elected members will then internally elect a chairman, vice-chairman and secretary.

ALMT Legal partner Hitesh Jain, meanwhile, is still conducting his campaign for the Maharashtra & Goa Bar Council elections, with polling to be held on 7 January 2010.

He is campaigning especially in his place of work Mumbai, his hometown Pune and the outlying areas, taking off several days a week from his partnership duties to hit the road.

08 June 2009

India’s new government could be the springboard for the country’s legal system to scale new heights.

reserve-bank-of-indiaThe recent Indian elections saw a decisive win for the Congress Party, the stock markets rally, the various economic growth forecasts adjusted and the ­rating agencies ditching their gloomy ­outlook for the country (see ‘Elections’ box).

The optimism within the business ­community here is so heartfelt and the belief in the new government so strong, it is ­reminiscent of the first month or so after Barack Obama’s election victory in the US.

Nevertheless, the data for the start of the year makes for depressing reading. India, much like the rest of the world, has suffered in every major sector (see ‘Figures’ box). The country, as ever, faces incredible challenges.

But amid those challenges, even though they come with a long wish list of demands from their old but newly emboldened government, Indian lawyers are also seeing great opportunities. In India, it is business time.