Delhi HC Bar election results out, president has ‘long-term’ vision for association

According to Makhija, the elections saw a turnout of 5,163 out of around 7,800 eligible voters. “There is a system of one bar one vote under which advocates have to submit a declaration that they will be voting in the elections of only one bar association across Delhi. Other than this, members need to clear any dues to be eligible for voting.”

Marwah explained that usually, preparations begin at least three-four months before the election date. However, for this year’s election, the commission only had a month to prepare. “It was a bit of a task, but we managed to organise the elections successfully,” he said. There were around 100 lawyers who worked as volunteers in the organisational process along with 100 staff, Marwah said.

Mathur was first elected as president in 2019 for a period of two years, but due to the Covid pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, his tenure lasted for around three and a half years. With a career spanning three decades, Mathur was designated as senior advocate in 2015 and has a long-term vision for the association. “We have several things in the pipeline; we have a long-term plan. It is necessary to have a long-term vision so that even if our tenure is over, then the next executive committee can fulfil those plans,” he said.

“We provided stipend to younger members of the bar, something to help them during the financial crunch. In the second wave, we contributed with para medical facilities individually and collectively from the bar,” Mathur said, adding that they also tried to provide three meals to people who were in need during the pandemic.

In his previous tenure, one of the things the committee had solved is the establishment of a creche for young parents. As far as his current tenure is concerned, Mathur states that members need sitting spaces where they can interact with clients. “Earlier we used the phone to send messages or make calls, now members require their phones and other gadgets to attend matters through video conferencing, which requires good WiFi connectivity which is high
up on the agenda.” Mathur said. Additionally, the expansion of the cafeteria is also on the agenda.

The affairs of the association are managed by an executive committee consisting of the president, vice-president, honorary secretary, joint secretary, treasurer and 10 other members who hold office for a period of two years.

Mathur defeated three candidates – senior advocates N Hariharan and Ramesh Gupta, and advocate Rajiv Khosla. Jatan Singh was elected as vice-president securing 2,378 votes, while Amit Chadha beat three candidates to be elected as treasurer with 3,530 votes. Senior advocates Rakesh Tiku and Inderbir Singh Alagh were elected as designated senior members to the executive committee. Dhan Mohan, Gayatri Puri, Nishant Anand, Nitesh Mehra and Rajat Manchanda were elected as the members to the executive committee.

“The voting began at 10 am on Wednesday and continued until 5 pm; the results were announced at around 11 pm,” Marwah said.