The Delhi High Court has sought response of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and Bar Council of India (BCI) on a plea challenging suspension of the association's secretary Ashok Arora.
The Executive Committee of the SCBA had passed a resolution on May 8, suspending Arora from the post of secretary with immediate effect in a meeting held through an online conference.
The suspension had come a day after Arora had called an emergent general meeting (EGM) of the lawyers' body on May 11 to deliberate on the agenda for removing senior advocate Dushyant Dave from the post of SCBA President.
The Executive Committee had also cancelled the proposed EGM and decided to set up a three-member panel to look into the allegations against Arora, an SCBA official had said.
The official had said the decision to suspend Arora was taken by the majority of participating lawyers.
Differences appeared among the top office bearers in the SCBA over the stand taken by the lawyers' body on a ''resolution'' concerning statements made by Justice Arun Mishra about Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the International Judicial Conference-2020.
On July 3, Justice Mukta Gupta, who conducted the hearing through video conferencing, issued summons in the suit and notice on the application filed by Arora seeking to stay the resolution passed by the Executive Committee of the SCBA by which he was suspended.
The high court said that the written statement and reply to the application be filed by the SCBA, represented through senior advocate Rajiv Nayar and Arvind Nigam, and BCI, represented through advocate Rajdipa Behura, within three weeks and listed the matter for further hearing on August 6.
In his suit in the high court, Arora, who was represented through senior advocate Rakesh Tiku, sought to declare the SCBA resolution as void ab initio, ultra vires to the rules and regulations of the SCBA and as such liable to be quashed and declared null and void.
The suit also sought to pass a decree of permanent injunction in favour of Arora and against SCBA, thereby restraining it and its office bearers and employees from interfering in the functioning of plaintiff (Arora) to perform his duties as the duly elected secretary of SCBA for the remaining term for which he was elected.
It further sought a decree of declaration in favour of Arora and against SCBA by declaring that the committee of three retired judges constituted by it is illegal and liable to be declared null and void.
The suit also sought a direction to the BCI to ensure that its May 10 resolution is duly implemented in letter and spirit by SCBA.
The BCI had on May 10 stayed the May 8 decision of the Executive Committee of the SCBA to suspend Arora with immediate effect by terming the suspension as "illegal, cavalier, undemocratic and autocratic".
During the hearing in the high court, the counsel representing SCBA submitted that as per the list of dates in the suit, Arora has filed a petition before the Supreme Court but its copy and the orders passed have not been placed on record.
Arora's counsel said the copy of the petition and the applications filed in the Supreme Court and the order passed, if any, will be filed within one day.
Shortly after Dave had issued the February 25 ''resolution'', allegedly signed by several members of the lawyers'' body expressing concern over Justice Mishra's statements, Arora had claimed that "no resolution has been passed" as he did not sign the statement released to the media.
Arora had then said, "There was no executive council or general body meeting of the Association. The President has taken an arbitrary dictatorial and irresponsible stand. He cannot speak on behalf of the SCBA without calling a general body meeting or meeting of the executive council on such a serious issue".
Arora had said that all the communication to the media is to be sent through the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who is General Secretary of the SCBA.
The lawyers' body in its resolution had said, "The SCBA expresses its strong reservations on the statement and condemns the same strongly. The SCBA believes that the independence of the judiciary is the basic structure under the Constitution of India and that such independence be preserved in letter and spirit."
On February 22, Justice Mishra had praised Prime Minister Modi, while delivering the vote of thanks at the inaugural function of the International Judicial Conference 2020 - ''Judiciary and the Changing World'' and termed him as an "internationally acclaimed visionary" and a "versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally".
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