The Bar Council of India has put on hold its August 11 directive ordering State Bar Councils to prepare panels of four women members for co-option, citing pending election-related matters before a Supreme Court-appointed committee. The original directive had set an August 16 meeting deadline to forward panels to High Court Chief Justices for selecting two co-opted members.
The reversal follows the Supreme Court's August 4 order in a case brought by petitioner Yogamaya M.G., which left the nomination decision to High Court Chief Justices in consultation with elected council members, not a BCI-created panel process. Yogamaya had filed an application arguing the BCI's panel mechanism overreached and interfered with the court's order.
The BCI says any preliminary steps taken under the paused directive should not proceed further or be treated as final until the Election Supervisory Committee, headed by former Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, resolves related disputes over vote calculation methodology for women candidates.
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