Judgment :

Leave Granted

2. The instant appeal is directed against the judgment dated April 16, 2010 rendered by the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Madras in Application No. 2739 of 2009 filed in Civil Suit No.301 of 2005 and Civil Suit No. 336 of 2005 by which the High Court has issued various directions regarding the management of the Madras High Court Advocates' Association (`The Association', for short) and had approved the amended bye-laws of the Association.

3. In order to understand the controversy raised in the appeal, it would be necessary to notice certain facts emerging from the record of the case.

In the year 1879, the Association was established. On March 16, 1972 the Association was incorporated as a Society and also as a charitable trust under the provisions of Registration of Literary Scientific and Charitable Societies Act, 1860.

Two learned Advocates who are Members of the Association have filed Civil Suit No.301 of 2005 seeking removal of the Trusteeship of defendant Nos. 1 and 3 who are the President and Secretary respectively of the Association and to direct them to submit report of accounts. They have also prayed to frame a permanent scheme for the election and management of the Trust. Pending the said suit, four other learned Advocates of the Association have filed Civil Suit No.336 of 2005 to declare that the action of the defendant No.4 of the said suit i.e. Secretary of the Association in notifying programme for election of the office bearers of the Association and the resolution dated March 24, 2005 of the General Body of the Association appointing the defendant Nos.17 to 22 of the said suit, as members of the Election Committee to conduct the election are bad in law and to restrain the defendant Nos. 1 to 16 as well as 17 to 22 from taking any action pursuant to the declaration of the election programme.

The Secretary of the Association has filed Civil Suit No.337 of 2005 to restrain the defendants named therein from interfering with his functioning as Secretary till expiration of his tenure i.e. till April, 2006.

4. It may be stated that the above numbered suits have been instituted in the High Court on its original jurisdiction and are pending disposal. The record indicates that in view of the pendency of above numbered suits every year the learned Advocates used to file different applications in the suits seeking direction of the High Court for holding elections of the office bearers of the Association and appropriate directions were given by the High Court from time to time. One learned advocate Mr. Thiru R. Karuppan filed an application bearing No.3101 of 2007 in Civil Suit No.301 of 2005 seeking his impleadment in the suit and to restrain the members of the Election Committee from scrutinizing applications received from the members of the Association for contesting election of office bearers of the Association and from conducting the election. It was also prayed therein to appoint tellers committee to conduct elections of the association. The learned Single Judge of the Madras High Court, by an order dated April 17, 2007, appointed a Tellers Committee consisting of 1) Thiru R. Thyagarajan, Senior Advocate, 2) Thiru N.G.R. Prasad, Advocate 3) Thiru C. Selvaraju, Senior Advocate 4) Thiru K.M. Ramesh, Advocate and 5) Thiru Ashok Menon, Advocate to complete the entire election process for the year 2007. Again for the year 2008-09, the High Court was approached by the learned Advocates and a learned Single Judge of the High Court passed the following order on March 17, 2008 :-

"It is represented by Mr. G. Rajagopal, Senior Counsel that the Committee was appointed by the Office Bearers of the High Court Association to give recommendation for amending the bye-laws and that the said Committee is going to file a draft amendment in the bye-laws before the Association by 25.3.2008. The learned President of the said Association would represent that thereafter they will convene a Gene