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105 lawyers are seeking senior advocate designation in Supreme Court

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Supreme Court releases 105 names as part of new guidelines for selecting senior advocates.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has released the names of 105 lawyers who have applied for the senior advocate designation, under new guidelines standardised by the apex court in 2017.

The last time the Supreme Court designated lawyers as senior advocates was in 2015 when the old selection process for advocates was challenged, but two months ago, 25 retired high court chief justices and judges were designated as senior advocates.

Advocates Gaurav Bhatia, Aishwarya Bhatti, Madhavi Divan, Gopal Sankarnarayan, Manohar Lal Sharma, Devdutt Kamat and Menaka Guruswamy are among those who have applied for the designation.

The list was made public Tuesday in accordance with the terms and guidelines as laid down in the apex court’s 12 October 2017 judgment to invite views and suggestions of various stakeholders. Feedback on the published names can be submitted with the registry within 15 days of publication of this list.

Only the top court and high courts can ordain advocates or former high court judges as senior advocates. Their gowns are different from other lawyers and senior advocates also enjoy certain privileges and few restrictions.


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An opaque process that was challenged

The process for designating lawyers as senior advocates has been subject to criticism, mainly because of the opaque manner in which it was being done.

One could either apply for the designation, or judges could invite or recommend certain candidates depending on their “ability, standing at the Bar, or special knowledge or experience in law”.

While a candidate’s income and years of experience were important factors, in several cases, the kith and kin of judges were given precedence over others.

According to a 2013 report by the Bar Council of India, less than 1 per cent of the advocates enrolled have gone on to become senior advocates.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising challenged the alleged arbitrariness of the selection process in 2015 and succeeded in getting it changed two years later. In October 2017, the top court framed standardised guidelines for the selection of senior advocates.

In August, the apex court, on the administration side, finally released the new guidelines, ‘Supreme Court Guidelines to Regulate Conferment of Designation of Senior Advocates, 2018’, and invited advocates to apply for the designation.


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The new guidelines

Under the new rules, applying advocates are subject to intense scrutiny by a permanent team empowered to take decisions on the matter, while applications from former chief justices and judges of high courts are straightaway referred to the full court meeting.

The permanent team comprises the Chief Justice of India as chairperson, along with the two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, the attorney general and a CJI-nominated member of the Bar, among others. The guidelines mandate that the team meet twice a year, in January and July, to shortlist the candidates.

The CJI or any other judge can also recommend a lawyer to be designated as a senior advocate.

Advocates who wish to apply must adhere to the criteria laid down in the new guidelines: Experience of more than 10 years, combined, as an advocate or a district judge, or as a judicial member of any tribunal, or with the same qualifications prescribed for a district judge.

The secretariat, which receives the applications, then compiles data based on the conduct, eligibility, reputation, pro bono legal work and the number of judgments the advocate has been involved in over the past five years.

After the committee shortlists names, they are published on the apex court website to invite views and suggestions from stakeholders. Every candidate receives points out of a total of 100, based on the criteria laid out, and their application is put up at a full court meeting after an overall assessment.    

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