Bar Council of West Bengal Modifies Election Rules, Allows Bar Association Office Bearers to Contest
WB Bar Council Election 2026: Office Bearers Allowed to Contest, Voting Guidelines Issued
Check: Names of Presiding and Polling Officers Across Bar Associations
Names of the Candidates with Valid Nominations
Election Dates: 9th and 10th March 2026
Date: 9th March 2026
A corrigendum notification issued by the Bar Council of West Bengal has modified certain provisions of the earlier election notification for the 12th Bar Council of West Bengal elections. The corrigendum, published in the Extraordinary issue of The Kolkata Gazette on January 17, 2026 under Notification No. 02/2026, amended parts of the earlier Notification No. 01/2026 dated January 9, 2026, which had announced the election in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order dated November 18, 2025 and subsequent directions in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1319 of 2023.
The earlier notification had included a clause stating that advocates who were office bearers of any Bar Association would not be eligible to contest the State Bar Council elections unless they had resigned before the date of the election notification. This provision was based on the Bar Council of India Uniform Rules and Mandatory Guidelines for Elections of Bar Council, 2016, as published in the Gazette of India on September 20, 2022. It also directed the Returning Officer to reject the nomination papers of candidates who were serving as office bearers of Bar Associations at the time of the election notification.
However, after examining the Bar Council of India Rules for Qualification, Disqualification, Procedure for Election and Code of Conduct for Elections of State Bar Councils and the Bar Council of India, 2023, published through Notification No. BCI: D: 3429/2023 dated June 23, 2023, the High-Powered Election Committee decided to withdraw this stipulation. As a result, office bearers of Bar Associations are now permitted to file nominations and contest the 12th Bar Council of West Bengal election. The corrigendum clarified that the earlier notification stands modified only to this extent, while all other provisions remain unchanged.
The notification was issued by the Bar Council of West Bengal and signed by Senior Advocate Sagar Bandyopadhyay, the Returning Officer. It was published in The Kolkata Gazette.
Meanwhile, following the decision of the High-Powered Election Committee during its seventh meeting, committee members and the Returning Officer held a pre-election meeting with contesting candidates on February 23, 2026 at ‘Uttirna’ located at 19/1 Thackeray Road, Alipore Police Line, Alipore, Kolkata. During the meeting, candidates raised several questions and concerns regarding the election process. The committee assured participants that clarifications would be uploaded on the official website of the Bar Council of West Bengal.
Subsequently, additional guidelines were issued to address the issues raised by candidates. The committee clarified that the election would be conducted using a single common ballot paper under the statutory method of proportional representation through the single transferable vote system. Voters may cast votes for up to twenty-three candidates of their choice, but any ballot containing votes for more than twenty-three candidates will be cancelled.
The committee also clarified that there will be no separate ballot papers, voting arrangements, or counting mechanisms for women candidates. Instead, the ballot paper will include a clear identifier, the letter “W,” against the name of each woman candidate. Mandatory women representation has been fixed at 30 percent, of which 10 percent will be through co-option and the remainder through election.
Since the total strength of the Bar Council of West Bengal is twenty-five members, along with the Advocate General for the state as an ex-officio member, five members are to be elected from among women candidates, while two additional women members will be co-opted by the Bar Council of India. As more than five women candidates are contesting, counting will proceed in the regular manner, though eliminated women candidates will be maintained on a separate list during the process.
The committee also addressed electoral roll issues, advising voters whose names were not included in the final list despite objections submitted on or before January 16, 2026 to contact the Bar Council office with proof of submission for appropriate action. Any spelling mistakes in preference numbers on ballot papers will be examined during the counting stage, but ballots where preference numbers are written in numeric form will be treated as cancelled.
Other logistical details were also clarified. The proposal to install CCTV cameras at polling booths is under consideration, and any decision in this regard will be communicated to presiding officers in advance. The names and mobile numbers of presiding officers have been made available on the Bar Council’s website.
The election will be conducted across 83 polling booths, including one in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Information regarding the number of valid voters at each booth, as well as the total number of eligible voters in the election, has also been published on the Bar Council’s official website.
During the February 23 meeting, some contesting candidates raised objections regarding women’s representation in the Bar Council. The High-Powered Election Committee stated that such objections are in direct conflict with the Supreme Court’s order of November 18, 2025. The committee warned that any complaint or action contrary to the court’s directives would be reported to the Supreme Court for appropriate action.
The election programme for the 12th election of the Bar Council of West Bengal has been officially notified following directions from the Bar Council of India. The schedule outlines the key dates for the electoral process, including publication of electoral rolls, nomination procedures, polling and counting of votes.
According to the notification issued by Senior Advocate Sagar Bandopadhyay, the Returning Officer, the election notification and provisional electoral roll were published on January 9, 2026. The provisional list had earlier been published by the Bar Council of West Bengal on December 20, 2025, and a copy was also republished along with the notification.
Advocates were allowed to submit objections to the provisional electoral roll from January 10 to January 16, 2026 between 11 am and 5 pm. Objections could be submitted either physically or through email at westbengalbarconcil@gmail.com. After considering objections, the final electoral roll was published on January 23, 2026.
The nomination process for candidates contesting the 12th Bar Council of West Bengal election was scheduled from January 27 to February 2, 2026 between 11 am and 5 pm. Scrutiny of nomination papers took place on February 3 and February 5, 2026, with February 4 being a holiday. The list of contesting candidates was published on February 6, 2026 by 6 pm.
Candidates were given the opportunity to withdraw their candidature from February 7 to February 10, 2026 between 11 am and 5 pm, with February 8 being a holiday. The final list of contesting candidates was published on February 10, 2026.