‘One Bar, One Vote’ Rule Extended to DBA Polls, HC Orders Voter List Cleanup The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday extended the ‘one bar, one vote’ principle to the upcoming District Bar Association (DBA) elections, ensuring advocates who have already voted in the High Court Bar Association (HCBA) polls are excluded from the DBA electoral roll. A division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode issued the directive while hearing a petition filed by senior counsel Mohan Sudame and others, seeking strict enforcement of the rule. The court emphasized that the principle, which prohibits advocates from participating in multiple bar association elections, must be upheld to prevent vote duplication and maintain electoral integrity. The order followed an earlier directive from the high court in October 2025, which required advocates to submit undertakings confirming they would vote in only one bar association election. Under that directive, 1,507 advocates submitted such undertakings, of which 1,444 were validated by the HCBA election committee. The court had warned that any violations of this rule would invite disciplinary action. During the recent hearing, the bench noted that while its earlier directive was interim, immediate enforcement was necessary due to the approaching DBA elections on April 24. The court ruled that excluding HCBA voters from the DBA electoral roll was essential to uphold the principle in the current cycle. The issue had previously reached the Supreme Court, which dismissed a challenge to the high court’s directive, reinforcing the validity of the ‘one bar, one vote’ framework. The Bombay High Court has scheduled a further hearing on the matter after the summer vacation, pending additional submissions.#bombay_high_court #high_court_bar_association #district_bar_association #mohan_sudame #akshay_sudame
