Breaking: Senior advocates Ram Jethmalani and PK Jain today withdrew their candidature for Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president just before today’s 4:30pm deadline by which nominations for the 2013 elections could be withdrawn. Their withdrawals from the race follow senior advocate Adish Aggarwala yesterday, reducing the race for the SCBA president’s office to one between only three candidates after the incumbent PH Parekh did not run again for the post.

Two sources close to the contest, who did not wish to be named, speculated that some of the seniors had withdrawn their papers to support another candidate running for president.

Jethmalani was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press. His junior who had withdrawn the papers earlier this evening on his behalf, cited personal reasons for his withdrawal.

Jain declined to comment but confirmed his withdrawal from the race.

While Jethmalani was SCBA president in 2010, Jain was the body’s vice president that year.

Senior advocate and Delhi bar council member Adish Aggarwala, who had also filed nomination papers, withdrew his candidature yesterday citing the short tenure of up to May 8 for the office bearers elected this time, among other reasons.

This leaves three candidates – senior advocates MN Krishnamani, Rajiv Dutta and Rupinder Suri – vying for the votes of 1,372 Supreme Court advocates next Thursday.