Karnataka High Court declines to pass order on 33% quota for women in Advocates' Association of Bengaluru polls

Bengaluru: The Karnataka high court on Wednesday declined to pass any order in a petition seeking 33 per cent reservation of seats for women in the election to the Advocates' Association of Bengaluru (AAB). The elections are scheduled to be held on February 2, 2025.

The petition was filed by advocate Deekhsha N Amruthesh. The petitioner had relied upon the Apex Court judgement in the Supreme Court Bar Association v/s B D Kaushik case and also Fozia Rahman v/s Bar Council of Delhi and Another case pertaining to Delhi High court Bar Association elections.

The petitioner claimed that not following the top court dictum pertaining to the reservation of at least one-third of Executive Committee seats for women in Bar Associations infringes upon the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India.

Disposing of the petition, Justice R Devdas noted that the final voters list for the elections was published on January 2, 2025 and calendar of events issued on January 8, 2025. “..hence, code of conduct has come into force and with regard to the Supreme Court's decision in the Ponnuswamy case, no courts can pass any orders which would cause any interference in the process of elections,” the court said.

The court also said that it is open for the petitioners to approach the Apex Court and seek necessary directions. The Apex Court in its order dated December 19, 2024 has already initiated action to collect relevant information and data from all the high court bar associations of the country, for the purpose of considering whether such directions could be issued to all the bar associations in the country.