RO Notification No. 4 dated 23.03.2026 INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES The candidates 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 candidates shall take note of the Code of Conduct already published for the Bar Council Elections and ensure they strictly follow the same without any breach. Any kind of breach, nonadherence to the Code of Conduct or adoption of corrupt practices, including bribing the voters, will result in strict action as per law.

[23/03, 15:25] sekarreporter1: RO Notification No. 4 dated 23.03.2026

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
The candidates 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 candidates shall take note of the Code of Conduct already published for the Bar Council Elections and ensure they strictly follow the same without any breach. Any kind of breach, nonadherence to the Code of Conduct or adoption of corrupt practices, including bribing the voters, will result in strict action as per law.

2. The campaigning by candidates shall cease on 28th March, 2026 at 05:00 PM and, thereafter, there shall not be any kind of canvassing by the candidates or their representatives / agents.

3. No movement or any kind of activity by the candidates or their representatives/ agents will be permitted in the vicinity of the polling booths on the polling day. Candidates should ensure that their supporters do not collect and / or assemble near the polling booths while the polling is on.

4. Candidates are notified that voters will be allowed entry into the polling booth only upon verification being carried out of their QR Code embossed on the Voter slip, and the same is a mandatory requirement. Only once the QR Code Assistant available at the polling booth verifies the credentials, shall the voter be permitted entry into the polling station.

5. The QR Code Voter Slip will be uploaded on the designated website https://hcmadras.tn.gov.in/bar_council.php. Voters should download, print and carry the same to the polling booth. In addition, hard / physical copy of the QR Code Voter Slip will also be made available to the voters through their respective Bar/Advocates Association.

6. Candidates are requested to widely disseminate the voting instructions in advance and make the voters aware of the same, so that strict compliance can be ensured on the polling day.

7. Candidates 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 at least 10 years of standing at the Bar.

8. Since the preferential voting system is followed in Bar Council Elections, voters shall ensure that they express their preferences clearly and unambiguously. Preferences will be expressed by using numerals 1 to 23, since there are 23 candidates in the fray. The voter will express her / his first choice from among contesting candidates by writing the number ‘1’ in the space [represented by a box] shown against the preferred candidate’s name. The voter’s second choice will be expressed by writing the number ‘2’ against the name of the next-preferred candidate. Likewise, preferences will be expressed for the remaining candidates as per the order of preference. 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.

9. Candidates shall provide due authorization for their agents to participate in the election process, including at the time of counting of the votes and may choose replacements by informing in advance the details of the persons being authorized. Only persons authorized by the candidates in advance and permitted by the Returning Officer / HPEC with identity card will be allowed to take part in any process.

10. Candidates and their representatives shall extend all support and assistance to the officials deployed at the polling booths and comply with the directions being issued by the District Observers, Booth Observers, Polling Officers, etc.

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