Chandigarh, September 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A Punjab and Haryana High Court advocate has approached the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana seeking an authoritative examination of the legality and propriety of the proposed election of the Ambala Cantt Bar Association, scheduled for September 11 along with elections of Bar Associations attached to district and sub-divisional courts across Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.
In a public representation submitted to the Chairman of the Bar Council, Advocate Hemant Kumar has questioned the institutional basis of maintaining a separate Bar Association at Ambala Cantt when, according to his representation, not a single Sub-Divisional Judicial Court is presently functioning there.
Hemant Kumar has clarified that his representation does not seek to question the professional status or rights of advocates practising from Ambala Cantt. Rather, it raises questions concerning the institutional relationship between a Bar Association and the judicial establishment to which it is ordinarily attached.
He has pointed out that Ambala Cantt became a separate administrative sub-division in 2016 following a Haryana Government notification dated November 30 that year, but no corresponding judicial court complex was subsequently established there. Residents continue to travel to Ambala City for ordinary civil and criminal judicial proceedings.
The representation also emphasises that the presence of an SDM office at Ambala Cantt cannot be equated with a judicial court, as an SDM functions within the executive magistracy while civil and criminal courts form part of the regular judicial system.
Referring to the historical existence of courts at Ambala Cantt during the British period, the advocate has argued that their past presence cannot by itself establish the existence of a present-day Sub-Divisional Judicial Court.
He has also cited functioning judicial courts at Naraingarh and the recent inauguration of sub-divisional judicial courts at Barwala in Hisar district and Narnaund in Hansi district, seeking examination of why comparable judicial infrastructure has not been established at Ambala Cantt.
The Bar Council has been requested to verify the Ambala Cantt Bar Association’s recognition or affiliation, the rules or resolutions governing it, the validity of its electoral process and whether it is formally attached to a judicial establishment or represents advocates practising or residing in and around the area.
The advocate has further sought relevant records concerning the Association’s constitution, recognition, affiliation and previous elections.
Beyond the election issue, the representation urges consideration of the long-standing absence of judicial infrastructure at Ambala Cantt. It requests that, if deemed appropriate, the Bar Council make a representation to the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding the feasibility of establishing an appropriate Sub-Divisional Judicial Court Complex there.
The advocate has said such infrastructure could improve access to justice for residents of the Cantonment and surrounding areas while providing an appropriate institutional setting for a local Bar.
The representation ultimately seeks a formal determination by the competent Bar authority after examination of the applicable legal and regulatory framework and relevant records, rather than asking for any predetermined conclusion.
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