Cuttack: State Bar Council (OSBC) election for electing 25 members will be held today. Voting to be held from 10 am to 5 pm at 167 places, while 96 advocates are in fray for 25 posts.
However, no voting will be held in Sambalpur due to curfew.
Around 36,000 members of different bar associations in the state have been included in the voter list.
While the OSBC had conducted its last election in 2014, but polls in 2019 could not be held as the final electoral roll had not been prepared owing to non-completion of the verification process of non-practising lawyers.
Although OSBC had 58,000 enrolled advocate members around 22,000 of them were identified as non-practising advocates during the verification process. Consequently, their names were not included in the final voter list, OSBC sources said. Those enrolled with the OSBC for an advocate licence, but were not practising in any court were identified as non-practising advocates.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) had extended the OSBC’s term after it expired in May 2019. After an extended six months term expired in November 2019 the BCI had constituted a special committee to carry forward OSBC. The committee has been managing the State Bar Council affairs since November 5, 2019.
