Overview
- A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh set a binding national timetable across 16 State Bar Councils, with Uttar Pradesh and Telangana to finish by January 31 and Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Tripura by February 28, followed by additional phases through April 30.
- Polling will run under regional High Powered Election Monitoring Committees of retired High Court judges, overseen by a national High Powered Supervisory Committee led by a former Supreme Court judge with a former High Court Chief Justice and a senior advocate who does not contest bar elections.
- Any lawyer who has applied for verification may cast a provisional vote, with results subject to consequences if their degree is later found fake or unrecognized.
- Universities and deemed law universities must deploy special teams including senior law faculty to authenticate degrees within one week of receipt, with verification fees limited strictly to what existing rules allow.
- The Court prescribed fixed steps for rolls, nominations, scrutiny, withdrawals, polling and counting, barred any extensions, and directed that counting occur under HPEMC supervision as verification proceeds without stalling elections.