Supreme Court (Img: Pinterest)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that the Bar Council of India (BCI) headed by Manan Kumar Mishra can take any policy decision only in consultation with the Attorney General and Solicitor General.
"Both the Attorney General for India and the Solicitor General of India shall be actively associated with every policy decision taken by the Bar Council of India", a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant ordered.
Noting that Mishra was only a pro-tem Chairman and not a democratically elected office-bearer, the court said he could only manage the day-to-day affairs of the BCI.
The bench, which also included Justice Joymala Bagchi and Justice V Mohana, passed the order while hearing petitions challenging Mishra's continuation as BCI chairman.
The order came on petitions seeking Mishra's removal from the top post of the BCI, which regulates the legal profession and education in India.
Senior advocate Mishra, who is also a Rajya Sabha member from Bihar, was first elected as BCI chairman in 2012. After briefly demitting the office in 2014, he returned as chairman in November that year and has remained the BCI Chairperson since then.
On behalf of petitioners, senior advocates Madhavi Diwan, C Uday Singh and others alleged gross illegality in senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra continuing as BCI chairperson for more than a decade allegedly without any lawful authority.
The petitioners have also alleged irregularities in setting up a new BCI trust — PEARL FIRST — in which Mishra and several others have been life managing trustees in their personal capacity.
The petitioners demanded an independent probe into the affairs of PEARL-FIRST, which runs the International University of Legal Education and Research in Goa.
The Bench, however, said the issue of reconstitution of BCI will be considered only after elections to all State Bar Councils are held and they elect their representatives to the BCI.
Until the reconstitution of BCI, the current BCI office-bearers can handle routine affairs, while policy decisions shall be taken in consultation with the Attorney General and Solicitor General.
The court has posted the matter for further consideration on September 17 to ascertain compliance with its directions on co-option and notification of the new Bar Councils' composition.
