Various allegations of irregularities have surfaced following the announcement of the State Bar Council elections. The most common complaint is that the names of many genuine voters have been omitted from the electoral roll. However, this alone does not fully capture the scale of the discrepancies. In a startling development, the names of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya are also missing from the list.
Both Mamata Banerjee and Chandrima Bhattacharya are practising lawyers and members of the Calcutta High Court Bar Association. The omission has left a large section of Trinamool Congress-affiliated lawyers shocked. Many are now using the absence of the Chief Minister's name to mount a sharper attack on the outgoing Bar Council board.
Voter list errors trigger outrage
The Supreme Court has already directed that the Bar Council elections in West Bengal must be completed by March next year. To oversee the process, a high-level committee appointed by the apex court has requested retired Manipur High Court Chief Justice D. Krishnakumar and retired Calcutta High Court judge Asim Kumar Roy to take charge. According to reports, Justice Roy has not yet officially communicated his decision.
Also Read | Abhishek Banerjee's scheduled Thakurbari visit sparks fresh TMC-BJP showdown
Meanwhile, lawyers' organisations from nearly all districts, frustrated by repeated irregularities, have conveyed their concerns to the Bar Council through formal letters. The most prominent grievance raised is the omission of genuine voters' names from the list. The Bar Council office is scheduled to reopen on Friday. Sources said lawyers from various districts are discussing plans to visit the office and stage protests within the next day or two.
According to sources, around 30,000 lawyers voted in the last Bar Council election held in 2018. However, the newly published voter list, released after several years, also contains only about 30,000 names. Lawyers argue that the figure should be at least 55,000, as thousands of young law graduates have since completed their studies, obtained enrolment certificates from the Council, and are practising in courts across the state. Many of their names are missing, while several names from the earlier list have also been dropped.
Certificate of practice issue adds to controversy
Tarun Chattopadhyay, former convener of the Trinamool Congress state legal cell, has been vocal in highlighting the alleged irregularities. "I am hearing that the names of many political figures, along with ordinary lawyers from the districts, are missing from the list. Some members of the Council appear to be acting in a calculated manner to prevent the inclusion of new names. However, they will not succeed so easily, as ordinary lawyers themselves are raising objections," he said.
Also Read | Is the charm of 'Happy New Year' greeting cards in Kolkata slowly fading away?
The controversy has also revived concerns over lawyers' Certificates of Practice. Senior advocates pointed out that, as per Supreme Court directives, lawyers must renew this certificate every five years to establish their validity as practising advocates. In 2016, the Bar Council collected ₹300 from lawyers for issuing these certificates, but none were issued.
According to senior lawyers, "Under the law, without a valid Certificate of Practice, a lawyer should not be recognised as a valid voter, nor should they be eligible to contest elections. Yet, even this time, candidates contesting the elections do not possess these certificates."
Responding to the issue, Bar Council Assistant Secretary Pinaki Bandyopadhyay said, "Whether the deadline for inclusion of names in the voter list will be extended will be announced in due course. For any other queries, concerned individuals will have to visit the Bar Council office once it reopens."
