For the first time in Odisha, elections to form executive bodies of different bar associations were held simultaneously on Saturday.
There are 167 bar associations in the State, including that of the Orissa High Court, and elections to form their executive bodies were held peacefully across the State under “one bar, one vote” principle, informed the State Bar Council secretary Jajati Keshari Samantsinghar.
The elections were held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the counting of votes was continuing till the filing of this report. “We are monitoring the elections across the State and according to the feedback available with our election committee, the results will be announced later in the evening,” Mr. Samantsinghar said, adding that there are over 50,000 advocates registered with the State Bar Council. Each bar has been provided with a list of advocates with their choice of bar to participate in the election.
Following Supreme Court’s guidelines on “one bar, one vote” and the Orissa High Court’s ruling, the State Bar Council had issued a notification to hold the elections in all bars simultaneously.