Can One District Have More Than One Bar Association? Supreme Court To Consider Nilgiris District Bar Association's Plea

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice on a Special Leave Petition filed by the Nilgiris District Bar Association challenging the order of the Madras High Court directing the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to consider an application filed by Women Lawyers Association of Nilgiris seeking recognition. 

Senior Advocate V Mohana, appearing for the petitioner, told a bench of CJI BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran that a separate bar association exclusively for women lawyers was not necessary in the same district.

She contended that the district is a small one and the present Association has just 250 members to fragment it further and create more Associations for smaller groups. She stressed that this demand is raised only by 4 women lawyers who are disgruntled over some issues, amongst whom one of them was already facing a disciplinary proceeding in the High Court. 

The bench issued notice in the matter, while remarking that let the respondent also submit its stance. 

The bench will hear the matter after 4 weeks now. 

Background 

On September 3, the Madras High Court directed the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to reconsider an application filed by the Women Lawyers Association of Nilgiris for recognition.

The bench of Justice MS Ramesh and Justice V Lakshminarayanan held that the Bar Council's view, that only one association could be recognised in a district, was misconceived and contrary to the Welfare Fund Rules, which specifically provided that the Bar Council could recognise more than one Bar Association. The court also added that the rules did not prohibit recognising more than one bar association.

The court thus opined that the Bar Council's decision was not based on any intelligible differentia and was violative of Rule 3(4) of the Welfare Fund Rules.

The Women Lawyers Association had approached the court after the Bar Council rejected their application under Section 13 of the Tamil Nadu Advocates Welfare Fund Act 1987 seeking recognition and registration of the association.

The women's association had submitted that it was registered under Section 10 of the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act in the file of the Registrar of Societies. It was thus argued that the association was a legally constituted body formed by the practicing women advocates in the Nilgiris District with an object to protect the interests of the woman lawyers and to ensure their well-being. It was argued that the Bar Council had arbitrarily rejected the application seeking recognition and registration, and the prior inspection and enquiry conducted by it was not in accordance with the law.

Case Details: THE NILGIRIS DISTRICT BAR ASSOCIATION Versus WOMEN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION OF NILGIRIS AND ORS.| SLP(C) No. 27691/2025

 Click Here To Read/Download Order