ORDER :

AJIT KUMAR, J.

1. Heard Mr. Saroj Kumar (in person) for the petitioner, duly assisted by Mr. Dharm Nath Pd. Yadav, learned counsel; Mr. Ramakant Sharma, learned Senior Counsel for respondent nos. 3 and 4, duly assisted by Mr. Bipin Kumar; Mr. Shailendra Kumar Singh, learned counsel for respondent no. 5; Mr. Anjani Kumar, learned Senior Counsel for respondent no. 6; and Mr. Jai Shankar Pd. Singh, Secretary General, Bihar State Bar Council, in the presence of a battery of lawyers from the Advocates’ Association.

2. The petitioner is a practicing advocate of this Hon'ble Court since 2002 and a permanent resident of Bihar who seeks to invoke the Court's writ jurisdiction regarding the upcoming association elections. Having previously contested for the post of General Secretary, the petitioner is directly affected by the election notice issued on March 17, 2026, (Annexure P/1) which scheduled the vote for April 17, 2026. This notice revealed that respondents No. 5 and 6 fixed exorbitant nomination fees, such as Rs. 25,000 for President and Rs. 20,000 for Secretary General, which is a massive departure from the reasonable Rs. 500–1,000 range seen in the 2023–2025 elections. Disturbed by this, the petitioner submitted representations on March 18, 2026, (Annexure P/2) urging a reduction, so that, average advocates would not be discouraged from contesting, yet, the respondents have continued to act in an arbitrary manner. These actions stand in direct violation of the Bihar Council Rules, 1962 "Uniform Rules for Bar/Advocates' / Lawyers' Association of Bihar" (Amendment 2017), which explicitly prescribe lower, affordable rates for all posts under Para 19 (xiv). The petitioner asserts that this fee hike serves no purpose other than promoting corruption and creating elitist class, which violates the principles of equity and Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

3. Learned Counsel for the Petitioner emphasised upon Para 6, 7 and 8 of the writ petition to buttress his submissions, which is reproduced hereunder:

“ 6. That the petitioner asserts and states that the respondents are acting in a thoroughly arbitrary manner. During the last elections (2023- 2025) the nomination fee was in the range of Rs. 500-1000/-. In other words, the nomination fee during the previous elections was reasonable and affordable for the advocates in general. The exorbitant increase in the nomination fee serves no useful purpose except promoting corruption in the running of the Association.

7. That it is submitted that there is a Uniform Rules For Bar/Advocates' / Lawyers' Association of Bihar, amended till 2017 prescribes para 19(iii) regarding power of Returning Officer and Para 19(xiv) provides rate of nomination fees for each post. For the ready reference para 19 of the Rules is coated here:-

19. (i) The Election of the office bearer of the Association be held on the date fixed under the Rules. The General Secretary/Secretary shall convene the annual general meeting in the month of February to consider the election matter before completion of the term of the office on 15th of April of the year.

(ii) The returning officer shall be appointed in the Annual General meeting by the General Body.

(iii) The returning officer shall publish the programme of the election of the Office bearers.

(iv) The election shall be conducted by secret ballot, as and when occasion arises, provided; there shall be no voting in the event of unanimous election.

(v) The practicing member, whose name appears on the roll of Association shall be eligible to be entered in voter list.

(vi) Any kind of election-dispute including the entry and omission of the name in the voter list shall be decided by a three members committee. This committee shall be constituted by the Association in Annual General Meeting in which the resolution to hold the election is adopted. The members of the Committee shall be from those advocates having a practice of 25 years and above in District Bar Associati