GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 17th May. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal was elected as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Thursday. The elections for the association were held the same day, with several prominent legal professionals vying for the position.
Competing against Mr. Sibal for the SCBA presidency were senior advocates Adish C. Aggarwala, Pradeep Kumar Rai, Priya Hingorani, and advocates Tripurari Ray and Neeraj Srivastava. According to sources, Mr. Sibal secured over 1,000 votes, while Mr. Rai garnered over 650 votes.
A Harvard Law School graduate, Mr. Sibal served as the additional solicitor general of India from 1989 to 1990 and was designated as a senior advocate in 1983. He has previously held the position of SCBA president three times between 1995 and 2002. Additionally, Mr. Sibal has served as a minister in the Congress-led UPA government.
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court had earlier directed that some posts in the executive committee of the SCBA be reserved for women members. A bench of justices Surya Kant and K.V. Vishwanathan emphasized the importance of the SCBA as a premier institution integral to the country’s highest judicial forum and mandated the reservation for women. Specifically, it directed that the post of treasurer in the 2024-2025 SCBA polls be reserved for women.
Reacting to Mr. Sibal’s election, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “Kapil Sibal has just been elected as president of the Supreme Court Bar Association by a landslide. This is a big win for liberal, secular, democratic, and progressive forces. This is also, in the outgoing PM’s words, a trailer for the changes that will happen very soon nationally. The soon-to-be former regime’s legal drumbeaters and cheerleaders must be shocked.”
Mr. Sibal’s election is seen as a significant development in the legal and political landscape, signaling potential shifts in both the SCBA and broader national governance.
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