By IANS,
New Delhi : A candidate who contested the May 11 Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) election has approached the Delhi High Court seeking to declare the poll “null and void”.
Mohammed Izhar Alam, who unsuccessfully contested for the post of association’s president, moved the court Friday and sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into alleged “malpractices” in the poll.
Alam, along with his colleagues, challenged the validity of the poll result. His plea is likely to come up before court June 6.
Earlier, while hearing a similar petition filed by a group of lawyers including Anis Suhrawardy, Justice Sunil Gaur earlier issued notice to the SCBA.
Justice Gaur directed the election committee to seal the electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in the SCBA poll, to ascertain the allegations that the scheduled voting time of 9.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. was later extended and advocates were allowed to cast their votes till 7 p.m. May 11.
The election was challenged on the ground that it was conducted through EVMs and not through ballot papers as provided for in the memorandum of association and, therefore, the election results were invalid.
“If the election was to be conducted through EVM, the memorandum of association ought to have been amended but it was not done,” said the lawyer’s petition.
After the election, senior advocate P.H. Parekh was elected as president of the SCBA defeating his nearest rival by a margin of just two votes.