Sr Adv Pradeep Rai Elected SCBA President for 2026-27; Find List of Other Elected Members

Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai has been elected as the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) for the 2026-27 term, succeeding Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, who headed the association during 2025-26.

Sr. Adv. Pradeep Rai secured 822 votes in the election, defeating Senior Advocate Anupam Lal Dass, who received 451 votes. Other candidates in the presidential contest included Senior Advocates Adish Agarwalla, Gaurav Bhatia, Sukumar Pattjoshi, Mahalakshmi Pavani and Siddharth Mridul, who secured 412, 370, 269, 128 and 217 votes respectively.

The election recorded approximately 2,794 votes, with the polling percentage estimated at 82%.

Other Elected Members of SCBA Executive Committee

Along with Rai, the SCBA elected Senior Advocate Rahul Kaushik as Vice President and Advocate Pragya Baghel as Secretary. Advocate Meenesh Dubey was elected Joint Secretary, while Advocate Reepak Kansal secured the post of Treasurer.

During the presidential debate preceding the elections, Pradeep Rai had advocated for scrapping the existing sequencing system at the Supreme Court. He also outlined several welfare-oriented measures for advocates, including medical security cover of up to Rs 50 lakh and merit-based scholarships for children of SCBA members.

SCBA Presidents Before Pradeep Rai

The election marks Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai's return to the presidential contest after he unsuccessfully contested the SCBA elections last year. He had earlier served as the association's Vice President during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 terms. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal had served as SCBA President immediately before Vikas Singh.

The elections were held against the backdrop of electoral reforms ordered by the Supreme Court. In April, the Court had directed the Election Committee to complete the election process, including declaration of results, by August 5. It had also introduced reforms concerning SCBA elections, but subsequently deferred their implementation until 2027. The Court had directed that this year's elections be held around August 18.