The Orissa High Court Monday directed the State Bar Council to ensure that elections to form executive bodies of all the 167 bars in the state are completed by end of March on the principle of 'One bar, One Vote'.
'One Bar, One Vote' rule was set by the Supreme Court in 2015 to identify the number of genuine advocates practising in various courts of the country.
The rule allows an advocate to have memberships of different Bars, but only one voting right.
Deciding over a PIL filed in this connection, a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice K S Jhaveri said elections to different bars in Odisha should be made simultaneously on the principle of 'One Bar One Vote'.
The High Court has also quashed the February 24 resolution passed by the Bar Council in which at least 12 bar associations were allowed to hold their elections at a later date.
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