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The Delhi High Court dismissed a petition seeking directions to the Union of India and the Election Commission for the disqualification of Manan Kumar Mishra, Chairman of the Bar Council of India (BCI), from the Rajya Sabha.
Additionally, the court imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on the petitioner. Petitioner, a practising advocate Amit Kumar Diwakar contended that Manan Kumar Mishra while holding the office of BCI Chairman, a statutory body under the Advocates Act, 1961, involves statutory functions, significant administrative responsibilities, quasi-judicial duties, and financial powers, cannot simultaneously serve as a sitting member of the Rajya Sabha. The bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula while dismissing the plea stated on Monday that the petitioner has bypassed the mechanism for challenging elections, outlined in the Representation of the People Act. "The constitutional and statutory framework stipulates that challenges to elections must be made in the prescribed manner under the Act, and the courts cannot allow writ petitions to serve as an alternative route to circumvent this established procedure," the court noted. "Therefore, the petitioner's decision to invoke this ourt's writ jurisdiction without filing an election petition amounts to a misapplication of legal principles. The claim, disguised as a writ petition, is fundamentally an attempt to challenge the election of Manan Kumar Mishra which cannot be examined in the present proceedings," the court further observed. The court also emphasized that an individual who does not meet these criteria cannot maintain an election petition. In light of the aforesaid principles, it is evident that the petitioner, neither being an elector, nor a candidate in the election in question, lacks the necessary locus standi to initiate an election petition, the court said. (ANI)
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