KARACHI, Dec 6: The Sindh Bar Council will elect its 42 members for the next five-year term on Jan 15. The new date has been fixed in view of a Sindh High Court division bench order of Dec 1 , which declined to give retrospective effect to the presidential ordinance promulgated on Nov 3 to amend the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act.

The ordinance curtailed the number of seats in the provincial bar councils and enhanced the duration of the qualifying legal practice for candidates from seven to 10 years. The polls were first put off from Dec 11 to Dec 27. The date was opposed by leading SBC members as it coincided with the winter court recess.

According to a notification issued by Advocate-General Anwar Mansoor Khan in his capacity as ex officio chairman of the council and returning officer for its province-wide polls, no new nominations shall be filed or accepted as the papers already received were submitted under the un-amended ordinance.

Fresh scrutiny would, however, be done in respect of the nomination papers of the candidates who were disqualified by the new ordinance for having practised law for less than 10 years. The final list of the contestants would be displayed on Dec 16.

The ballots would be counted by the polling officers the same day, that is, Jan 15, and by the returning officer on Jan 18. Official results would be declared on Jan 25.