Delhi bar council suspends 10 lawyers over misconduct during polls in Feb

The Bar Council of Delhi suspended Rajiv Khosla and nine lawyers for misbehaving during elections, barring them from the High Court pending a hearing.

The Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) has suspended former Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) president Rajiv Khosla, along with nine other lawyers, for allegedly misbehaving with the returning officer (RO) and former judge Talwant Singh, as well as members of the Election Committee (EC) and staff engaged in vote counting during the February BCD elections, and for preventing them from performing their duties.

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The decision was taken by BCD secretary Col Arun Sharma on Sunday after EC submitted minutes of a meeting regarding an incident that transpired on Saturday at the S-Block of the Delhi High Court. The lawyers were accused of forcibly stopping the RO and other officials from entering the counting venue and using abusive language.

In October last year, the Bar Council of India had dissolved the BCD and constituted a three-member special committee headed by additional solicitor general Chetan Sharma to take over its functions.

In a three-page letter, BCD barred the lawyers from entering the precincts of the Delhi High Court and issued show-cause notices asking them to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken for alleged professional misconduct, including suspension of their licence to practise for three years. They have been directed to submit their responses within ten days and appear for a virtual hearing before the special committee on May 15.

“The special committee has observed that some candidates, advocates, or authorised representatives have misbehaved with returning officer Talwant Singh, former judge of the Delhi High Court, and other members of the election committee and counting staff. They were forcibly stopped from entering S-Block and used unparliamentary language and abuse heaped at the returning officer and members of the election committee,” the letter stated.

It added that the committee had also been informed by RO and members of EC and counting officers, who are mostly retired principal district and session judges, that they “feel threatened and humiliated having undergone the trauma of the unfortunate incident of April 25, 2026,” and that RO had clearly said they would not be in a position to undertake further counting without proper security.

The elections, last held in 2018, took place from February 21 to 23 at the Delhi High Court premises. A total of 221 candidates contested for 23 seats, with those elected set to serve a five-year term. The counting commenced on March 7 at the S-Block of the High Court.

On April 16, Delhi Police registered an FIR in connection with alleged tampering of ballot papers during the counting process, and an internal enquiry by the council pointed to manipulation aimed at benefitting a particular candidate. The complaint was filed by BCD’s secretary after irregularities surfaced during the counting of votes.

On April 16, Delhi Police registered an FIR in connection with alleged tampering of ballot papers during the counting process, and an internal enquiry by the council has pointed to manipulation aimed at benefitting a particular candidate. The complaint was filed by BCD’s secretary, after irregularities surfaced during the counting of votes. “In several ballot papers, the digit ‘1’ was inserted before the digit ‘2’ in the second-preference column, converting it into ‘12’. Thereafter, the digit ‘2’ was marked in favour of a particular ballot number, allegedly to give undue advantage to one candidate,” an officer said.

Speaking to HT on Monday, Khosla termed the decision “illegal,” arguing that the authorities could not bar them from entering the court premises. “They cannot stop us from going to court. They are nobody. The HC registrar general can always say you cannot enter the premises, but the RO cannot. Who is the RO? The EC cannot. This is a step which has not been taken as per law, and they have to take it back. The protest was a legitimate protest by women lawyers. 115 people have already joined the protest. More than 60 are also with us. People do not want the RO, and they want a repoll. They cannot say, ‘cancel the license.’ The election committee and the ad hoc committee are a mix-up,” he said.

When asked about challenging the decision, Khosla said, “Mostly the list includes the women lawyers. I am a part of it. Whatever decision they will take, I will follow. The agitation is being held by women lawyers.”