Senior advocate Kapil Sibal was elected as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Thursday. Other than the Rajya Sabha MP, five others were in the running for the top post of SCBA.
Senior advocates Adish C Aggarwala, Pradeep Kumar Rai, Priya Hingorani and advocates Tripurari Ray and Neeraj Srivastava were all contesting the association's elections held on Thursday.
Sibal secured 1,066 votes, defeating his closest competitor senior Counsel Pradeep Rai who bagged 689 votes, Bar and Bench reported.
Sibal, a Harvard Law School graduate, served as the additional solicitor general of India during 1989-90. He was designated as senior advocate in 1983.
The former minister in the Congress-led UPA government, Sibal held the post of SCBA president three times between 1995 and 2002.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed that some posts in the SCBA's executive committee be reserved for women members.
A top court bench of justices Surya Kant and K V Vishwanathan had said that it was of the view that the association is a premiere institution and is a significant part of the nation's highest judicial forum.
There shall be reservation for women members of the bar, the SC bench directed. Additionally, it said that the post of treasurer of the executive committee be reserved for women in the 2024-2025 SCBA polls.
Notably, Advocate Rachana Srivastava was elected as the Vice President. She secured 816 votes, defeating her nearest rival Sukumar Pattjoshi who had 784 votes.
"Lawyers are meant to uphold the rule of law. The purpose of the lawyer is to protect the Constitution... So if you divide the Bar based on political leanings, actually you are not fulfilling your duty as a lawyer. You may have a personal political philosophy, but that has nothing to do with your duty as a lawyer," Sibal told Bar and Bench.
"I used to be with a political party, but we never espoused its cause in court," he added.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud also congratulated Sibal and said, "Mr Sibal, heartiest congratulations on our behalf for being elected as the president of the SCBA. We look forward towards your cooperation and (that of) the members of the executive committee."
Thanking CJI Chandrachud, the senior advocate said, "It is my honour that after 22 years, I have been given this opportunity to serve the bar. From our side, you will have complete cooperation and that's our commitment to the bench. It is through this cooperation that we can take the agenda forward."
Meanwhile, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh reacted to Sibal's victory in SCBA polls and 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," Ramesh said.
(With PTI inputs)
