RO Notification No. 3 of 2026 dated 23.03.2026 INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTERS The voters are hereby requested to take note of the following instructions for the forthcoming Election of Members to the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry [‘Bar Council Elections’]:

1. The eligible voters for the Bar Council Elections as notified in the Final Voters’ List can cast their votes in person in the polling booths mentioned in the Election Notification, on the 30th day of March 2026 between 10.00 AM and 05.00 PM.

2. The eligible voters will be issued with a QR Code Voter Slip. The QR Code Voter Slip shall be uploaded on the website https://hcmadras.tn.gov.in/bar_council.php on or before 26th March 2026 to enable the voters to download the same, print and carry with them to the polling booth. In addition, the QR Code Voter Slip will be physically made available to the voters through their respective Bar/Advocate Association.

3. The QR Code Voter Slip, and validation through the same, is mandatory for casting the vote in the Bar Council Elections. No voter will be permitted to cast their vote without production of the QR Code Voter Slip for requisite verification by the designated QR Code Assistant at the polling booth.

4. The voters shall maintain queue discipline for orderly conduct of the election and shall permit the elderly [above the age of 70 years], pregnant women, and persons with disability to have priority in the queue.

5. A voter will be permitted to enter the polling station with proper Identity Card with the Enrolment Number issued by the Bar Council of Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, or the concerned Bar/Advocates Association. On the confirmation of the identity, the voter’s presence for the voting in the concerned Polling Booth will be further validated through the said QR Code Voter Slip, which shall be scanned, followed by the voter being photographed by the QR Code Assistant at the entry of the polling area, before being permitted to proceed further.

6. The voter thereafter has to sign on the designated Voter Register available with the Polling Assistant, after her/his name has been identified in the said Register. The voter will thereafter be applied with indelible ink on the right-hand forefinger and issued with the Ballot Paper to cast the vote.

7. Voters should bear in mind that the voters are required to vote to elect 23 [‘Twenty-Three’] members, out of whom a minimum of 5 [‘Five’] persons would be women, and a minimum of 12 [‘Twelve’] persons would be those having atleast 10 years of standing at the Bar. The casting of the vote shall be by writing with pen the number ‘1’, in the ballot paper in the space [represented by a box] opposite the name of the candidate in whose favor the voter chooses to cast the first preference vote.

Likewise, the numbers ‘2’, ‘3’, ‘4’ and so on, all the way till the number ‘23’, must be written in the space opposite the names of the candidates concerned in the Ballot Paper in continuing order of preference of votes for the election of 23 members of the voter’s choice. It would not be mandatory for a voter to indicate her / his preference vis-à-vis every candidate. Usage of roman numerals i.e. I, II, III, IV etc. is not permitted.

8. A Ballot Paper shall be declared invalid on the following counts:
a) If the number ‘1’ is not written in the box opposite the name of a candidate; or

b) If the number ‘1’ is written in the box opposite the names of more than one candidate or is so written so to make it doubtful as to in favour of which candidate the vote is cast; or

c) If the number ‘1’ and some other numbers as well are set opposite the name of the same candidate; or

d) If there is any other writing or marking in the box set opposite the name of the candidates; or

e) If there is any other writing, signature, erasures, indication or mark, by which the voter can be identified.

9. The voter is also given the choice of casting a NOTA [None of the above] vote. If the voter elects to cast a NOTA vote, they may tick mark “ü” opposite the provision for NOTA that is provided at the end of the ballot paper.

10. After completing the voting as aforesaid, the voter shall deposit the Ballot Paper in the Ballot Box kept for the purpose in the Polling Booth, and the voter shall, thereafter, exit the Polling Booth forthwith.

Chennai
23rd March, 2026
JUSTICE K.N. BASHA [Retd.]
RETURNING OFFICER