Supreme Court Orders Recounting of Votes in SCBA Elections Amid Allegations of Irregularities

New Delhi, May 26, 2025 — The Supreme Court of India on Monday directed a recounting of votes for all posts in the recently concluded Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections, including the key post of President, following allegations of bogus voting and ballot discrepancies.

A vacation bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta took note of concerns raised by several candidates and accepted the proposal made by the SCBA Election Committee (EC) to conduct a complete recount. The bench also permitted the Registrar General of the Supreme Court to act as an observer during the recounting process.

“Let no candidate should have any doubt. Let there be recounting for all elections wherever there is a complaint,” the bench observed.

Allegations of Bogus Voting and Counting Issues

The recount was prompted by allegations that votes cast exceeded the number of ballots issued, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the election. The counsel for the EC informed the bench that such anomalies were being found “after every 5-10 ballots,” and this made the counting process extremely difficult.

The bench assured all parties that grievances will be addressed fairly and directed that results should not be declared immediately after recounting. Instead, a detailed report on the recount process is to be submitted before the Court.

“We will first see the report before the results are declared. Then we will take a call,” the Court clarified.

Recount to Be Done in Phases

While the recounting for the President’s post will be conducted immediately, the recount for Executive Committee (EC) member posts may take 2–4 days, the EC’s counsel submitted.

Results of SCBA Elections Held on May 20

As per initial results:

• Senior Advocate Vikas Singh was declared elected as President, defeating Senior Advocates Adish C Aggarwala and Pradeep Kumar Rai.
• Senior Advocate Rahul Kaushik was elected Vice President.
• Advocate Pragya Baghel was elected Secretary.

Complaint Regarding Women’s Reservation

The Court had earlier, on May 23, also heard a grievance regarding non-implementation of the 33% women’s reservation in the elections. A female advocate argued that at least two posts of senior executive members should have been reserved exclusively for women, regardless of merit. The Court had then ordered the preservation of CCTV footage of the polling booths.

Court Emphasizes Fair Process

When Senior Advocate Adish Aggarwala attempted to intervene during the hearing, the Bench responded firmly:

“We are not entertaining this now. Submit all grievances in writing to the EC. The committee’s report will be placed before us, and we will consider it.”

The Bench reiterated that it would not reconstitute the EC but would substitute any member unable to participate in the recounting process.

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Supreme Court Orders Recount in SCBA Elections After Allegations of Bogus Voting

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Supreme Court directs full recount in SCBA elections after vote irregularities surface. Results to remain on hold until court reviews recount report. Read key developments.