Supreme Court: The Division Bench of Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, JJ., flagged concerns in the process for the designation of lawyers as Senior Advocates. The Bench clarified that it meant no disrespect to guidelines laid down in 2017 and 2023 in Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India, (2023) 8 SCC 1 and Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India, (2017) 9 SCC 766.
The Bench opined that it raised concerns for the Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna to consider whether a larger bench needs to be constituted to decide the issues raised.
The Bench expressed that an advocate cannot seek designation as ‘senior’ as it is a privilege conferred by the Supreme Court or High Court with the lawyer’s consent.
It also raised concerns about the interview process of the advocates, whether it was sufficient to test their personality or suitability.
[Jitender v. State (NCT of Delhi), Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 4299/2024, decided on: 20-02-2025]
Source: Press
