Calcutta High Court Initiates Process To Designate Counsels As Senior Advocates After 5-Yr Gap, 136 Candidates Shortlisted

Calcutta High Court Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam on Friday informed advocates that after a five-year hiatus, the High Court was in the process of recommencing the process of designating advocates as senior advocates.

On mentioning by a Senior Advocate about the list of advocates for designation as seniors pending before the CJ, Justice Sivagnanam said, "Actually the development is, in line with the Indira Jaising judgement, the shortlisted candidates have to be published. That will be done today. Then there is a 15-day window for objections, Already it is being done. That format is uploaded. It is moving."

Let me make it clear that for 5 and a half years this designation did not take place. Matter was pending before SC. Thereafter, when I took over as acting CJ, things started moving. Then two more directions were given in the Indira Jaising judgement. We have adopted. You please see, that our rules are in tune with the judgement. Possibly the best in the country. We will upload it today itself, please ask them to check it. Procedure is not as simple as we think.

Senior advocate referred to the instance of the Supreme Court shortlisting 200 advocates for designation as seniors, "I am told that the CJI did not sit only for the purpose of considering the names on the shortlist."

"Here we have 136, I have approved the list. The next will be to call the advocates for interaction, then the committee will form an opinion and place it before the full court," the CJ said.