The Supreme Court today said, it will take up the reconstitution of the Bar Council of India after the newly elected State Bar Councils complete the statutory process for constituting the BCI. The apex court was hearing pleas challenging the continued occupation of the BCI chairperson’s post by Senior Advocate Manan Kumar Mishra and the purported extension of his tenure till 2030. It said, the issue of Mr. Mishra’s chairmanship and whether the BCI needs to be reconstituted, will be considered only after elections to all State Bar Councils conclude and they elect their representatives to the BCI. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant directed the Chief Justices of the jurisdictional High Courts to complete the pending co-option of women members to the State Bar Councils within two weeks. The Councils will then have one week to notify their final composition and two weeks thereafter to complete the remaining statutory steps under Section 4(1)(c) of the Advocates Act and submit compliance reports.
While the constitution of an elected BCI has been pending, the Court permitted the existing arrangement to continue for day-to-day functioning but imposed an oversight mechanism for policy decisions. It directed that the Attorney General for India and the Solicitor General for India be actively associated with every such policy decision.
