Senior Advocate Designation: SCAORA Urges Supreme Court To Fast-Track Decision On Applications Received In Feb 2022

The application, filed through Advocate-on-Record Devvrat, has pointed out that in violation of the ‘Supreme Court Guidelines to Regulate Conferment of Designation of Senior Advocate’, after the previous round of designations was concluded in 2019, the exercise was not started afresh till February 2022. “Clause 4 of the said Guidelines provides that the Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates (“CDSA”) shall meet at least twice a year,” the petition states, “Clause 8 provides that each year in the month of January and July, the Secretariat of the CDSA shall invite applications from Advocates or Advocates-on-Record seeking designation as Senior Advocate. Thus, under the 2018 Guidelines, the process of designation as Senior Advocate is required to be undertaken twice a year.”

The guidelines were framed by the apex court in 2018 after certain objective criteria for senior designations, applicable to all High Courts and the Supreme Court, were given in Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India. Pursuant to the Indira Jaising verdict and the 2018 Guidelines, SCAORA has revealed, the top court had initiated the process for the designation of senior advocates in 2018 which was completed in 2019.

“However, thereafter the notice inviting applications was issued only on February 25, 2022, that is, after a gap of four years. Since then, almost one year has elapsed and the said process is not yet concluded.” This has caused anxiety amongst the members of the lawyers’ association, the petitioner has claimed while urging the Supreme Court to enjoin the designation committee to conclude “the current process of designation at the earliest and without any further delay”.

Case Title

Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India & Ors. | Writ Petition (Civil) No. 454 of 2015