Delhi HC Removes Requirement Of Joint Proposal By Three Senior Advocates To Apply For Senior Designation [Read Notice]

The Full Court of High Court of Delhi has passed a resolution to remove the pre-requisite of joint proposal by three senior advocates for a lawyer to apply for Senior designation.

This step has come in the light of an order, earlier passed by a division bench of the high court, which stayed the operation of Rule 7 of the High Court of Delhi Designation of Senior Advocate Rules 2018 to the extent it required a joint proposal by three Senior Advocates for an advocate to apply for Senior designation. The order was passed by former Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice Anup J. Bhambhani pursuant to a petition challenging the aforementioned requirement.

The petition was filed by advocates Nandita Rao and Farrukh Rasheed, through Advocate Ruchi Singh, who contended that "the said entry barrier to apply for senior designation is in violation of provisions of Section 16(2) of the Advocates Act and also of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution and further it is in violation of judgment of Supreme Court in case titled Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India".

The said resolution was passed by the Court on August 1, 2019 and subsequently published by way of a Public Notice dated August 14. It calls for all eligible and desirous advocates to apply for the said position to the Secretariat of the Committee by 4.30 PM on August 31, 2019. It further clarifies that the application of Advocates who had already applied with recommendation of three Senior Advocates was also valid and they need not apply again.

The resolution further provides the amended version of Rule 7, reproduced here under:

"(7) Procedure for designation of an Advocate as Senior Advocate. An advocate may be considered by the High Court for being designated as Senior Advocate either (A) SuoMotu by the High Court or (B) on an application by an Advocate.

(A) Procedure Suo Motu:

i. An Advocate who fulfills the eligibility conditions prescribed here in before, may be considered suo moto by the High Court for being designated as a Senior Advocate either on the written proposal of a Judge of the High Court or of Hon'ble the Chief Justice of the High Court.

ii. Such written proposal of a Judge or of Hon'ble the Chief Justice shall be sent to the Registrar General who shall forward it to the Secretariat after obtaining a consent-cum personal information sheet (Annexure-A to these Rules) duly filled in and signed by the Advocate concerned.

7(B) Procedure on application by an Advocate:

Any Advocate who fulfills the eligibility conditions prescribed here in before may submit a written application for being designated as Senior Advocate to the Registrar General who shall forward it to the Secretariat after obtaining a consent-cum-personal information sheet (Annexure-A to these Rules) duly filled in and signed by the Advocate concerned." 

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