In exercise of the powers
conferred by Sec. 15 of the Advocates Act (Act No. XXV of 1961), the Bar
Council of Uttar Pradesh after obtaining the approval of the Bar Council of
India makes the following rules : These rules shall be
called the "Bar Council of U.P. Election Rules, 1968" and they shall
come into force from the date of their approval. These rules shall be
subject to the rules made by the Bar Council of India under the power vested in
it by the Act. In these rules, unless the
context otherwise requires- (a)
"Act" means the
Advocates Act, 1961; (b)
"Advocate-General"
means the Advocate-General for the State of Uttar Pradesh; (c)
"Bar Association" means
a Bar Association registered under the Indian Societies Act, 1860 and also
registered by the State Bar Council in accordance with the rules framed by the
State Bar Council for the purpose of these rules; (d)
"Bar Council" means the
Bar Council for the State of U.P.; (e)
"Casual Vacancy" means
a vacancy that has been causal; otherwise than by the expiry of the term of
office of a member; (f)
"Chairman" means the
Chairman of the Bar Council of the State of U.P. (g)
"Clear days" means that
time is to be reckoned exclusive of both the first and the last days; Illustration. - The
election of members to a State Bar Council is fixed for the 15th January, 1965.
Under the rules of the Bar Council, ballot papers have to be despatched 10
clear days before the date of election. Consequently the last date for the
despatch of ballot papers will be 4th January, 1965. (h)
"Continuing candidate"
means any candidate not elected and not excluded from the poll at any given
time; (i)
"Count" means- (a)
all the operations involved in the
counting of the first preferences recorded for candidates, or (b)
all the operations involved in
the transfer of the surplus of an elected candidate, or (c)
all the operations involved in
the transfer of the total value of votes of an excluded candidate, or (d)
all other operations involved in,
incidental to, or necessary for the entire process of ascertainment of votes. (j)
"Electoral roll" means
and includes the roll containing the names of the Advocates prepared in
accordance with the rules of the Bar Council of India in Part III, Chapter I. (k)
"Exhausted Paper" means
a voting appear on which no further preference is recorded for a continuing
candidate and includes a paper votings on which- (a)
the names of two or more
candidates whether counting or not are marked with the same figure and are next
in order of preference, or (b)
the name of the candidate next in
order of preference whether continuing or not, is marked by a figure not
following consecutively after some other figure on the voting paper or by two
or more figures; or (c)
there is such efacement,
obliteration, erasure, or mutilation as to make any preferences other than the
first preference ambiguous. (l)
"First Preference"
means the figure '1' set opposite the name of a candidate; "Second
Preference" means the figure '2' set opposite the name of a candidate; and
" third preference" means the figure '3' set opposite the name of a
candidate, and so on; (m)
"Form" means a form
prescribed under the rules; (n)
"Original Vote" in
relation to any candidate, means a vote derived from voting paper on which a
first preference is recorded for such candidate; (o)
"Presiding Officer"
means a person appointed as such by the Returning Officer and Polling Officer
means a person appointed by the Returning Officer or by the Presiding Officer
to assist him; (p)
"Returning Officer"
means the person appointed by the Bar Council as such to conduct an election; (q)
"Surplus" means the
number by which the value of the vote, original and transferred, of any
candidate exceeds the quota; (r)
"Transferred Vote" in
relation to any candidate means a vote the value or part of the value of which
is credited to such candidate and which is derived from a voting paper on which
a second or a subsequent preference is recorded for such candidate; (s)
"Unexhausted Paper"
means a voting paper on which a further preference is recorded for a continuing
candidate; (t)
"Voter" means a person
whose name is included in the Electoral Roll; (u)
"Enrolment number"
means the number at which the name of an Advocate is entered in the roll of
Advocates maintained by the Bar Council; (v)
"Quota" means the
lowest value of votes sufficient to secure the return of a candidate; (w)
"Electoral Roll" means
the list of voters prepared district wise under rules; (x)
"Secretary" means the
Secretary of the Bar Council or any other person appointed by the Bar Council
to perform the duties of Secretary. Election of members to the
Bar Council shall be held at such place or places, on such date or dates, and
during such hour or hours as the Council may appoint. Different dates and
different hours may be appointed for polling at different places; provided that
a Returning Officer at his discretion may make necessary changes in the place
and date of polling or on a written request made by at least 23 advocates of that
place entitled to vote. (i)
Election to the Bar Council shall
be by the single transferable vote by and amongst the voters in the electoral
roll in accordance with these rules; (ii)
the voting shall be by personal
ballot. (a)
Notice of the time and place of
election shall be given by publication under the signature of the secretary, in
one issue of a daily newspaper in the State not less than 60 clear days before
the date of election. The notifications shall specify inter alia - (i)
the dates for nominations; (ii)
the dates for scrutiny; (iii)
the dates for withdrawal of the
candidature; (iv)
the date or dates of polling; (v)
the last dated on which the
voting papers despatched by post should reach the Secretary; (vi)
the date and place and time for
counting of votes; and (vii)
the minimum number of seats that
should be filled from amongst advocates who on the relevant date will have been
on the Slate roll for at least 10 years: Provided that the last
date for the filing of the nomination shall not be less than 35 clear days
before the date of the election and that there shall be at least 5 clear days
after the last date of the scrutiny for withdrawal of the candidature. Copies
of the notices shall be affixed on the Notice board of the Bar Council, and
sent to the Advocate-General and to the Bar Associations. (b)
Copies of the above notice shall
be put up on the notice board of the Bar Council and sent to-(i) Bar
Associations, and (ii) the Advocate-General, and (iii) shall also be sent to
the official Gazette of the State for publication. No person shall be
entitled to seek election unless his name is in the electoral roll. Nomination (i)
Every candidate for election as a
member of the Bar Council shall be proposed under the signature of a voter on
Form No. A prescribed by the Bar Council which shall be delivered to the
Secretary by the proposer or the candidate, personally or sent per post or by
messenger so as to reach the Secretary on or before the date fixed for
nomination. Such proposal shall further contain the acceptance of the candidate
to serve on the Council. A voter shall not be entitled to propose more
candidates than the number of seats to be filled in; (ii)
Such nomination shall be
accompanied by a deposit of Rs. 200 (rupees two hundred) only, and this deposit
shall be made to the Secretary in cash or Bank Draft and for such deposit a
receipt shall be issued in Form E : Provided that if more
proposals than one are received in respect of a candidate, a single deposit of
Rs. 200 shall be sufficient. (iii)
The amount of deposit shall be
credited to the fund created under Sec. 15 (2) (b) of the Act, except in case
of- (a)
withdrawal of candidates within
the prescribed time, or (b)
If the nomination of a candidate
is rejected, or (c)
If a candidate dies before the
commencement of the poll. Provided further that the
deposit of every candidate standing for election shall stand forfeited in case
the candidate is unable to secure at least one-sixth of the quota fixed for
election and is not elected. Whereas the deposit of remaining candidates will
be refundable to them. (iv)
A candidate shall not be eligible
for nomination, if he suffers from any disqualification as laid down in the
rules framed by Bar Council of India in Part III, Chapter I as specified in
Appendix I to these rules. The Secretary shall
scrutinise the nomination papers received at the place and time notified under
Rule 6, and if in his opinion any nomination paper is invalid, he shall report
the same to Returning Officer and in his absence the Advocate General who shall
decide the validity or otherwise of such nomination paper, and his decision
shall be final. The candidates or their agents shall be entitled to be present
both at the time of the scrutiny before Returning Officer or the
Advocate-General and make their submissions. No nomination paper shall be
rejected except for a defect of a substantial character. In other cases the
Returning Officer or the Advocate-General may allow any defect to be rectified. Any person whose name has
been proposed as a candidate may withdraw his candidature by a communication in
writing so as to reach the Secretary not later than the date specified for the
purpose in the notification under Rule 6, The signatures of candidates
withdrawing should be attested by a Judge or Magistrate. If the number of duly
nominated candidates who have been on the State rolls for more than 10 years is
less than or equal to the number required by the proviso to Sec. 3(2) (b) of
the Act, they shall be declared elected. The number thus elected shall be
deemed to be the number required by the said proviso. If the number of such
candidates is in excess of the required number but the number of all the
nominated candidates does not exceed the total number to be elected, all the
candidates shall be declared elected. In every other case there shall be a poll
as prescribed by these rules. (a)
Not less than 20 clear days
before the date fixed for elections the Secretary shall publish the names of
all the candidate, validly nominated except the names of those who have
withdrawn under Rule 10 as nearly as possible in Form "B" on the
notice board of the Bar Council; (b)
Copies thereof shall also be sent
to the Advocate-General and to the Bar Associations. The Secretary shall- (i)
Prepare and maintain a list of
voters separately for each district consisting of the name and enrolment
numbers of all the practising Advocates whose names are entered and maintained
under Sec. 17 of the Act along with their respective addresses unless
disqualified under the rules framed by the Bar Council of India (ii)
Upon the application of any such
votes received before the despatch of ballot papers his address may be altered
in the manner specified in the application. (iii)
The electoral roll of the State
Council shall inter alia, contain the following particulars- (a)
serial number, (b)
number in the State roll, (c)
name of advocate as on the roll, (d)
address of the advocate. The voting paper shall
contain the names of all the candidates. The address of the candidate and the
date of his enrolment as advocate as in the roll shall be given against the
name of each candidate. An asterisk mark shall be put against the name of candidates
who on the relevant date have been on the State roll for at least 10 years for
the purposes of proviso to Sec. 3 (2) (b) of the Act. The voting paper shall
also bear on it the facsimile of the Returning Officer's signature. It shall
state the total number of the candidates to be elected. The voting paper shall
as nearly as possible, be in the Form "C". Voters required to vote in
person under these rules shall cast their votes at the respective polling
booths on the dates notified in this behalf. There may be one or more
polling booths at each place. Different dates may be fixed for polling at the
different booths. Polling shall ordinarily be from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. The Returning
Officer shall appoint a sufficient number of Polling Officers for the booths,
and may himself act as such at one or more of the booths. The Bar Council may
give such general directions as it may consider necessary with regard to places
where polling booths ought to be established and the persons to be appointed as
Presiding Officers. When a voting appear has
once been handed over to a voter, a second voting paper shall not be issued to
him unless he satisfies the Presiding Officer that the voting paper has been
spoilt or mutilated or lost or destroyed or has not been received by him, in
which case a duplicate voting paper may be issued to him. The Returning Officer
shall send to the Presiding Officer of the booths requisite number of voting
papers and some additional voting papers sent and enclosing an extract from the
electoral roll relating to the polling booth, and other papers, if any with
necessary instruction. All the voting papers shall be serially numbered. The Presiding Officers
shall on the date and at the time or hours fixed in this behalf, supply a
voting paper to each voter in his polling booth, who applies in person
therefor, and take his signature in the list of voters against the voter's name
to signify the issue of the voting paper. (1)
Every voter shall have only one
vote at the election irrespective of the number of seats to be filled. (2)
A voter in giving his vote- (a)
shall place on his voting paper
the figure '1' in the space opposite the name of the candidate whom he chooses
for his first preference, and (b)
may in addition place on his
voting paper the figure '2' or the figures '2' and '3', or the figures '2' and
'3' and '4', and so on, in the space opposite the names of the other candidates
in the order of his preference. (3)
A voting paper shall not be
signed by a voter. Any voting paper containing any erasures, obliterations,
overwriting and alterations or the signature of a voter shall be deemed to have
been defaced, and no votes purporting to have been given thereby shall be taken
into account for the purpose of the election. (4)
The decision of the Returning
Officer as to whether a voting paper has or has not been defaced shall be
final. A voter to whom a voting
paper has been supplied by the Presiding Officer shall after voting personally
return to him the voting paper in the enclosed envelope supplied to him and the
Presiding Officer shall then place it in the big envelope. A voting paper shall be
invalid on which- (a)
the figure '1' is not marked; or (b)
the figure '1' is set opposite
the name of more than one candidate or is so placed as to render it doubtful to
which candidate it is intended to apply; or (c)
the figure 1 and some other figures are set
opposite the name of the same candidate; or (d)
there is any mark in writing by which
the voter can be identified; (e)
a voting paper in which the
preferences are indicated in words as 'one' 'two' etc. (f)
the marking on the voting paper
is not in the international form of Indian numerals. At the time of counting,
the candidate or his agent shall be entitled to be present On the day fixed for
counting. Returning Officer shall open all the envelopes and after rejecting
the voting papers which are invalid, or which cannot be taken into account,
shall- (a)
arrange the remaining voting
papers according to the first preference recorded for each candidate; (b)
count and record the number of
papers in each envelope; (c)
credit to each candidate the
value of papers in his parcel. Every voting paper shall
be deemed to be of the value of one hundred, and the quota sufficient to secure
the return of a candidate at the election shall be determined as follows: (a)
add the value credited for a
candidate under Cl. "(c) of Rule 24"; (b)
divide the total by a number
which exceeds by one of the number of seats to be filled; and (c)
add one to the quotient, ignoring
the remainder if any; the resulting number is the quota. If at the end of any
count, or at the end of the transfer of any parcel or sub-parcel of an excluded
candidate, the value of voting papers credited to a candidate is equal to or
greater than the quota that candidate shall be declared elected: Provided that- (i)
No candidate who has not been an
advocate on the State Roll for at least 10 years shall be elected if 10
candidates of less than 10 years' standing have already been declared elected; (ii)
If at the end of any count, there
are two or more candidates, who have not been on the State Rolls for at least
10 years, getting more than the quota as aforesaid but the number of candidates
that can yet be elected from such category under the proviso to Sec. 3(2) (b)
is less than that number the candidates who has obtained the greater value of
votes shall be declared elected in preference to the candidate whose value of
votes is less; (iii)
In the case of two or more
persons of the category referred to in proviso (ii) above, getting the same
value of votes at the end of any count, the Returning Officer conducting the
election shall decide by lot which of such persons shall be declared elected. (iv)
The other candidate or candidates
not declared elected as aforesaid by reasons of the proviso to Sec. 3(2) (b) of
the Act and these rules shall be excluded from the poll. (i)
If after exclusion of any
candidate under rule 30 at the end of any count, the value of the voting paper
credited to a candidate is greater than the quota the surplus shall be
transferred in accordance with the provisions of this rule to the continuing candidates
indicated on the voting papers of that candidate as being next in order of the
votaries' preference; (ii)
if more than one candidate have a
surplus, the surplus shall be dealt with first and the others in order of
magnitude: Provided that- Every surplus arising on
the first count shall be dealt with before those arising on the second count
and so on. (iii)
Where there are more surpluses
than one to distribute and two or more surpluses are equal, regard shall be had
to the original votes of each candidate, and the candidate for whom more
original votes are recorded shall have his surplus first distributed, and if
the value of the original votes is equal, the Returning Officer shall decide by
lot which candidate shall have his surplus first distributed; (iv)
(a) If the surplus of any
candidate to be transferred arises on the original votes only, the Returning
Officer shall examine all the papers in the poll belonging to that candidate,
divide the unexhausted papers into sub-parcels according the next preference
recorded thereon and make a separate sub-parcel of the exhausted papers; (b) The Returning Officer
shall a certain the value of the papers in each sub-parcel and of all the
unexhausted papers; (c) If the value of the
unexhausted papers is equal to or less than the surplus, the Returning Officer
shall transfer all the unexhausted papers at the value at which they were
received by the candidates whose surplus is being transferred; (d) If the value of the
unexhausted papers is greater than the surplus, the Returning Officer shall
transfer the sub-parcels of the unexhausted papers, and the value at which each
paper shall be transferred shall be ascertained by dividing the surplus by the
total number or unexhausted papers. (v)
If the surplus of any candidate
to be transferred arises from transferred as well as original votes, the
Returning Officer and shall re-examine all the papers in the sub-parcel last
transferred to the candidate, divide the unexhausted papers into sub-parcels,
according to the next preferences recorded thereon, and then deal with the
sub-parcel in the same manner as is provided in the case of such parcel
referred to in sub-rule (4); (vi)
The papers transferred to each
candidate shall be added in the form of a sub-parcel to the papers already
belonging to such candidate; (vii)
All papers in the parcel or
sub-parcel of an elected candidate not transferred under this rule shall be set
apart as finally dealt with. The Returning Officer
conducting the elections shall exclude from the poll candidates as specified in
rule 3 (b) (i) of the rules of Bar Council of India in Chapter II, Part III, as
specified in Appendix II to those rules. The procedure prescribed
in rule 3 (c) of the rules of the Bar Council of India in Chapter II, Part III
shall be followed. In carrying out of the
provisions of rules 26 to 29 the Returning Officer shall disregard all
fractions and ignore all preferences recorded for candidates already elected or
excluded from the poll. (i)
Immediately upon the completion
of count, a list of the candidates elected to the Bar Council shall be
prepared, signed and certified by the Returning Officer and sent by him to the
Secretary. (ii)
The Returning Officer shall place
all the valid voting papers in a scaled parcel or parcels. (iii)
After such certificate the
Secretary shall cause the names of successful candidates to be published in the
Gazette and in such newspapers as the Bar Council may select. The Secretary
shall also send a list of successful candidates to the Advocate General, to the
Presidents of all the association in the State referred to therein before, and
to the successful candidates. (iv)
On the publication of the list in
the U.P. Gazette, the persons whose names appear in the list shall be deemed to
have been declared as elected. (1)
Any voter may contest the
validity of the election of a candidate declared to have been elected to the
Bar Council by a petition signed by him and supported by an affidavit and
delivered to the Secretary personally or sent by registered post so as to reach
him within 15 days from the date of publication of the results of the election. (2)
The petition shall be accompanied
by a deposit of Rs. 250 which shall be paid in cash or sent by Money Order or
Bank Draft. In case it is sent by M.O. the MO. receipt shall also be attached
to the petition. The fee shall not be refundable. (3)
Such petition shall include as
respondents all the contesting candidates, and the petition shall be
accompanied by as many true copies as there are respondents with five extra
copies. (4)
All disputes arising under the
above sub-rules shall be decided by a tribunal to be known as an Election
Tribunal comprising of 3 Advocates whose names are on the State Roll and who
are not less than 10 years standing and who are not candidates in the said
election to the Bar Council. (5)
The Election Tribunal shall be
appointed by the Bar Council on or before the date on which the time of the
election is fixed under Rule 4. Provided that if any member of the Tribunal so
appointed chooses to be a candidate in the said Election he will be replaced by
another Advocate nominated by the Advocate General before the date of Election. (6)
The Election Tribunal shall have
all or any of the following powers- (i)
To dismiss a petition; (ii)
To order recount; (iii)
To declare any candidate to have
been duly elected on a recount: (iv)
To set aside the election of the candidates
who cither by himself or through any other person acting with his consent is
guilty of corrupt practice. The following shall be deemed to be corrupt
practices for the purposes of this Act: (1)
"Bribery", that is to
say- (A)
any gift, offer or promise of any
gratification to any person whomsoever, with the object, directly or indirectly
of including: (a)
a person to stand or not to stand
as, or to withdraw or not to withdraw from being a candidate at an electron, or (b)
an elector to vote or refrain
from voting at an election, or as a reward to- (i)
a person for having so stood or
not stood, or for having withdrawn or not having withdrawn his candidature; or (ii)
an elector for having voted or
refrained from voting; (B)
the receipt of, or agreement to
receive, any gratification whether as a motive or a reward': (a)
by a person for standing or not
standing as or for withdrawing or not withdrawing from being a candidate; or (b)
by any person whomsoever for
himself or any other person for whom voting or refraining from voting or
inducing or attempting to induce any elector to vote or refrain from voting, or
any candidate to withdraw or not to withdraw his candidature; For the purposes of this
clause the term "gratification" is not restricted to pecuniary
gratification or gratifications estimable in money and it includes all forms of
entertainment and all forms of employment for reward. (2)
Undue influence, that is to say
any direct or indirect interference or attempt to interfere with the free
exercise of any electoral right including the issuing or sending of any appeal
or manifesto for votes whether direct or indirect: Provided that a mere
intimation of a candidature with a bare request for a vote shall not amount to
undue influence: And provided further that
a candidate or his agent may also orally ask for votes from voters; but on the
date of election such requests shall not be made within a radius of 200 yards
from the polling station: And a candidate may issue a written intimation to his
voters announcing his candidature and seeking their votes or their first
preference votes, which intimation shall not contain any other publicity or his
eulogy. Such written intimation shall also not amount to undue influence. Mere
announcement of his candidature by a candidate shall not amount to an appeal. (3)
The hiring or procuring, whether
on payment or otherwise of any vehicle or vessel or the use of such vehicle or
vessel for the free conveyance of any elector to or from any polling station. Explanation. The vacancy
arising under sub-rule (6) (iv) shall be filled up as a casual vacancy. (v)
In other cases to declare a
vacancy to be filled up as a casual vacancy. (vi)
To make an order as to costs. (7)
The trial of an election petition
shall as far as possible be governed by the Civil Procedure Code. (8)
No petition shall lie on the
ground that any nomination paper was wrongly rejected or the name of any voter
was wrongly included in or omitted from the electoral roll or any error or
irregularity which is not of a substantial character. (9)
The voting papers and other
records relating to the elections shall not be destroyed until the expiry of
the time fixed for the filing of any petition under Clause (1) of his rule. (10)
In case where a petition or
petitions have been filed under Clause (1), no such voting papers or records
shall be destroyed till all the election petitions are finally disposed off. Except as otherwise
provided in these rules the secretary shall be in charge of the conduct of the
election. Explanation.- For the
purposes of these rules, the "Secretary" shall mean a person
appointed as Secretary under section 7 of the Act, or any other person
appointed by the Bar Council to perform the duties of the Secretary under these
rules.BAR
COUNCIL OF UTTAR PRADESH ELECTION RULES, 1968
PREAMBLE