Summary
In pending proceedings concerning State Bar Council elections, many advocates who had submitted their law degrees faced exclusion because verification remained incomplete. The Court modified its earlier directions to permit their provisional participation, excluding degrees already found fake and revising the election and verification deadlines.
Issues
- Whether advocates who timely submitted forms and law degrees should be excluded because verification remained pending.
- What revised electoral and university-verification timetable should govern.
Held
- All 6,44,768 advocates who had submitted application forms with law degrees for verification were to be included in the electoral list. Advocates whose degrees universities had found false or fake were excluded. Administrative delays should not adversely affect applicants for no fault of theirs. (¶ 5–7)
- Permission for advocates awaiting verification was provisional. If a university subsequently reported a false or fake degree, the Court would pass appropriate orders concerning enrolment and the election in which the advocate participated. All election results remained subject to the final outcome of the petition. (¶ 8–9)
- The electoral list was to be published by 30 November 2017, with the earlier paragraph 7 timetable starting on 1 December 2017. State Bar Councils had to conclude proceedings by 15 February 2018; universities were directed to expedite verification and complete it by 31 March 2018. (¶¶ 7, 10)
Result
Earlier order modified; impleadment applications allowed and interlocutory applications disposed of with provisional inclusion and revised deadlines. Main matter directed to be listed in the second week of March 2018 on a non-miscellaneous day.