Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra on Saturday dismissed allegations levelled by BCI co-chairman YR Sadasiva Reddy as “personally and politically motivated”, saying there is “no substance” to the claims and challenging Reddy to prove them.
“If a handful of individuals are making baseless allegations, whether regarding a trust or the appointment of a relative, there is no substance to them. These unfounded claims are surfacing only now,” Mishra told ANI.
Earlier on Saturday, BCI co-chairman and senior advocate YR Sadasiva Reddy demanded Mishra’s immediate resignation, alleging irregularities in appointments to the Council, diversion of funds and a lack of transparency in its functioning, according to a letter shared by Live Law.
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{{/usCountry}}He alleged that Reddy was politically opposed to the BJP and had opposed him since his time in the party.
“But whatever allegations Mr. Reddy has put are personally and politically motivated allegations,” Mishra said.
He further claimed that more than two-thirds of BCI members continued to support him and said the Council had held a physical meeting and conducted business transactions despite the allegations.
Mishra challenged Reddy to substantiate his claims regarding the Council. “He should come and prove it. If he proves it, then I am out,” he said, adding that such allegations did not suit Reddy, whom he described as a senior lawyer.
On allegations concerning the trust, Mishra said its functioning was transparent and that its managing trustees included Bar Council members and senior advocates. He said the trust's accounts are audited annually, with the audit report incorporated into the budget, published and made available in the public domain.
“Manan Mishra will remain president as long as the country's lawyers, the voters, want him to stay,” he said.
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Family-linked appointments, funds diversion
In a letter dated August 22 addressed to Mishra, Reddy sought his resignation and called for an independent inquiry into the allegations. He also demanded a special meeting of the BCI to consider the issues raised in the notice.
One of the key allegations raised by Reddy concerns appointments to the BCI's establishment. He alleged that staff appointments were made without a transparent recruitment process and claimed that several employees are personally connected to Mishra.
“Appointments to the establishment of the Council made without any transparent process of recruitment,” Reddy said, listing it as the first ground for seeking Mishra's resignation.
According to Reddy, he did not previously question the process because he had no reason to believe it was otherwise.
However, after examining the current staff list and the details of employees, Reddy alleged that he found “a pattern that no responsible Member can overlook”.
“A striking proportion of the staff are persons connected to you personally, several of them being members of, or related to, your own family,” the letter shared by Live Law alleged.
(With inputs from ANI)