Case Note & Summary
This matter concerned two writ petitions filed before the Bombay High Court challenging the validity of certain rules of the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa Election Rules and the election held thereunder. The petitioner in Writ Petition No.903 of 2004, a practising advocate and elected member of the State Bar Council, sought a declaration that Rules 6(h) and 32(g) of the Election Rules were ultra vires the Advocates Act, 1961, and to set aside the election conducted on 4 March 2004 in which he himself had been elected. The connected Writ Petition No.1781 of 2004 raised similar issues. The core legal question was whether these rules, which presumably dealt with the system of voting and preferences, exceeded the rule-making power conferred by Sections 3(2)(b), 3(4) and 49(1)(a) of the Advocates Act, 1961. The judgment delivered on 13 December 2006 reflected a split verdict. The excerpt provided contains only the dissenting opinion of Justice Anoop V. Mohta, who disagreed with the conclusion of his brother judge, Justice F.I. Rebello, that the rules were ultra vires. Justice Mohta's view was that the rules were intra vires and within the scope of the Act. The text does not include any arguments of the parties or the reasoning of the majority opinion. Consequently, the final decision of the Court remains unclear from the available portion. The procedural history reveals that both petitions were heard together, and a divergence of opinion resulted in the dissenting note recorded here.
Headnote
A) Constitutional Law - Delegated Legislation - Validity of Election Rules - Advocates Act, 1961, Sections 3(2)(b), 3(4), 49(1)(a); Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa Election Rules, Rules 6(h), 32(g) - The writ petitions challenged the vires of Election Rules 6(h) and 32(g) as being ultra vires the parent Act - Per Anoop V. Mohta, J. (dissenting) held that the rules are not ultra vires and are within the rule-making power conferred by the Advocates Act, 1961 (Paras 1-3).
Issue of Consideration
Whether Rule 6(h) and Rule 32(g) of the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa Election Rules are ultra vires Sections 3(2)(b), 3(4) and 49(1)(a) of the Advocates Act, 1961.
Law Points
- election rules intra vires
- rule-making power under Advocates Act sections 3(2)(b)
- 3(4)
- 49(1)(a) not violated
