THERE IS NOT A SINGLE JUDICIAL COURT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED TILL DATE IN AMBALA CANTT SUB DIVISION
Face2News/Chandigarh
Can a Bar Association continue to hold its annual elections in a sub-division where not a single Judicial Court is presently functioning?
That is the pointed legal and institutional question raised before the Bar Council of Punjab & Haryana over the proposed elections of the Ambala Cantt Bar Association, scheduled for September 11 along with elections of Bar Associations attached to District and Sub-Divisional Courts in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.
In a detailed Public Representation submitted to the Chairman of the Bar Council, Advocate Hemant Kumar has sought a formal examination of the status, recognition and electoral process of the Ambala Cantt Bar Association, pointing out that while Ambala Cantt has been a separate administrative sub-division since 2016, no Sub-Divisional Judicial Court has so far been established and made functional there.
“Where is the judicial establishment?”
The representation raises a fundamental question: if there is no Judicial Court at Ambala Cantt before which advocates regularly practise as a Bar attached to that establishment, what is the legal and institutional basis for maintaining a separate Bar Association and conducting its annual elections?
The Advocate has, however, made it clear that the representation is not intended to question the professional status or rights of individual advocates practising from Ambala Cantt.
The issue, he says, concerns the institutional relationship between a Bar Association and the judicial establishment to which it is ordinarily attached.
SDM office is not a Judicial Court
A key point raised in the representation is the distinction between executive administration and judicial administration.
The existence of the office of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Civil) at Ambala Cantt, it states, cannot be treated as equivalent to the existence of a Judicial Court. The SDM functions as an Executive Magistrate, while Civil and Criminal Courts constitute part of the regular judicial system.
Thus, the presence of the SDM, Tehsildar or other administrative authorities at Ambala Cantt does not, by itself, establish a Sub-Divisional Judicial Court.
Separate sub-division since 2016
According to the representation, the Haryana Government, after consultation with the High Court, altered the territorial jurisdiction of the then Ambala Sub-Division through a notification dated November 30, 2016, resulting in the creation of a separate Ambala Cantt Sub-Division, with its headquarters at Ambala Cantt.
However, the creation of the administrative sub-division was not followed by establishment of a corresponding Judicial Court complex.
The result, the representation points out, is an unusual administrative arrangement: a separate sub-division exists, but residents continue to travel to Ambala City for ordinary civil and criminal judicial proceedings.
Historical courts no answer to present status
The representation also refers to Ambala Cantt’s historical association with judicial establishments during the British period.
The Courts functioning at Ambala Cantt were subsequently shifted to Ambala City and, according to the representation, the judicial arrangements were later consolidated with the judicial establishment at Ambala City.
The Advocate argues that the historical existence of Courts at Ambala Cantt cannot, by itself, establish the present-day existence of a Sub-Divisional Judicial Court there.
Why Ambala Cantt—and not other sub-divisions?
The issue has also been sought to be examined in the wider context of judicial infrastructure across Haryana.
The representation points to Naraingarh, where Judicial Courts are functioning at the sub-divisional level. It also refers to the inauguration of Sub-Divisional Judicial Courts at Barwala in Hisar district and Narnaund in Hansi district earlier this year.
Against this backdrop, the continued absence of even a single Judicial Court at Ambala Cantt, despite its separate administrative identity for nearly a decade, has been described as an issue requiring the attention of the competent authorities.
Bar Council asked to verify recognition
The representation specifically calls upon the Bar Council to determine:
whether the Ambala Cantt Bar Association has formally recognised or affiliated status;
under which rules, regulations, bye-laws or resolution such recognition operates;
whether its annual elections comply with the applicable regulatory framework;
whether it is a Bar Association attached to a Judicial Court or an association of advocates practising or residing in and around Ambala Cantt; and whether the absence of a Judicial Court has any bearing on its continuation and electoral process.
The Bar Council has also been requested to call for the relevant records concerning the Association’s recognition, constitution, affiliation and previous elections, if deemed appropriate.Call for judicial infrastructure too
The representation goes beyond the question of Bar elections and seeks consideration of a larger public-interest issue—the long-standing absence of judicial infrastructure at Ambala Cantt.
The Bar Council has been requested, if considered appropriate, to make a representation to the Punjab & Haryana High Court regarding the feasibility of establishing or restoring an appropriate Sub-Divisional Judicial Court Complex at Ambala Cantt.
The Advocate contends that such a step would improve access to justice for residents of the Cantonment and surrounding areas and, at the same time, provide an appropriate institutional setting for a local Bar.
The larger question
The controversy ultimately places a larger question before the Bar Council:
Can a Bar Association be treated as a Bar attached to a particular judicial establishment when no Judicial Court presently exists at that place?
The representation does not seek a predetermined conclusion. Instead, it asks the statutory Bar authority to examine the legal and regulatory framework, verify the relevant records and issue an authoritative pronouncement.
The matter could therefore bring into focus not merely the proposed Ambala Cantt Bar election, but also the broader question of the relationship between Bar Associations, judicial establishments and access to justice in Haryana.
The representation has been submitted by Hemant Kumar, Advocate, Punjab & Haryana High Court, Chandigarh, dated September 9, 2026.
Haryana
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