Can Bar Associations refuse to represent an accused?

The article examines whether a Bar Association can collectively decide not to represent a particular accused, prompted by a Bar Association resolution in the Ayodhya Ram Temple embezzlement case.

It sets out the Supreme Court’s consistent position that every accused has a right to a fair trial and legal representation, and that denying such representation via Bar resolutions is unconstitutional, illegal, and contrary to professional ethics.

Using prior case law, it references a 2010 Supreme Court decision where a Division Bench held that resolutions by Bar bodies refusing representation are null and void.