Madras High Court orders conduct of elections to Women Lawyers Association of T.N. Bar Council

Madras High Court orders election for Women Lawyers Association by September 30, strict compliance with Societies Registration Act.

The Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTNP) to conduct an election to the Women Lawyers Association (WLA) functioning from the high court campus before September 30 this year, by appointing an election officer and adequate number of other officials to assist the officer.

A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and C. Kumarappan directed the present office-bearers of the association to hand over all details, including the entire list of members and other details connected with the day-to-day administration of the association, to the secretary of BCTNP within two weeks.

The BCTNP was, in turn, directed to finalise the electoral list, appoint the election officer and conduct the elections as per the bylaws. The judges also made it clear that the new office-bearers must ensure that future elections are conducted on time without giving room for any complaints regarding undue delays.

If the elections do not get conducted on time as per the bylaws, the BCTNP could appoint a woman special officer who should conduct elections to the association within four months of her appointment, they said. The court also ordered strict compliance of the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975.