The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Election Committee that oversaw the conduct of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections to preserve CCTV footage of the elections till further orders..A Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice KV Vishwanathan issued the direction after some election candidates alleged instances of bogus voting and other irregularities."Election Committee is directed to preserve the CCTV recordings till further orders. Video cameras shall be kept in the custody of Senior Advocate Vijay Hansaria, Chairman of the Election Committee," the Court directed .During the hearing, a lawyer pointed out that the Supreme Court had previously directed 33 per cent reservation for women in the SCBA elections. She contended that the Election Committee erred by declaring results purely on the basis of merit, without reserving two senior executive member posts exclusively for women, regardless of how many female candidates won on their own.In response, the Court clarified that its earlier judgments had intentionally used the term "representation" rather than "reservation."Justice Surya Kant explained that the aim was to ensure meaningful participation of women, and this form of representation was distinct from the constitutional scheme of reservation applicable to public employment and services."During the course of the hearing, the issue with regard to reservation of women has been raised. We are informed that out of six candidates declared elected, three are women. That being so, the object .... has been successfully achieved. No further reservation is required," Bench noted..The Court further observed that had any grievance about the Election Committee been brought to the Court earlier, during the election process, necessary changes could have been made.The Court emphasized that if any member has serious complaints regarding election irregularities, the judges on the Bench would personally examine them, provided that the claims were not merely driven by disappointment over election outcomes.The Bench also acknowledged suggestions for electoral reforms, including a proposal that members of the Election Committee should neither contest elections nor support any candidate directly or indirectly. Justice Kant observed that impartiality of the Election Committee was essential."Meanwhile, some suggestions have come with respect to irregularities...which need to be rectified by the Registrar of the Supreme Court. Let these suggestions be submitted to the Registrar. Similarly, other suggestions with regard to other reforms may be submitted preferably by the next date of the hearing ," Court noted.The Court has listed the matter on July 28 for further hearing..[Read Live Coverage]
