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Urgent pleas only by advocates-on-record

NEW DELHI:Only advocates-on-record can now mention petitions for urgent hearing in the Supreme Court as Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Wednesday put an end to the practice of senior advocates queuing up for it.

Urgent pleas only by advocates-on-record


Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 20

Only advocates-on-record can now mention petitions for urgent hearing in the Supreme Court as Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Wednesday put an end to the practice of senior advocates queuing up for it.

As a senior advocate started mentioning a matter for urgent hearing, the CJI said: “No…sorry…only advocates-on-record will mention henceforth. We cannot spend the whole day and allow mentioning to go on like this.”

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Surprised lawyers looked at each other even as the CJI made it clear that mentioning would be done only by advocates-on-record.

This happened a day after an advocate complained that senior advocates were getting preference at the cost of junior ones during mentioning of urgent cases in the morning before the CJI’s Bench. 

The CJI’s court witnessed noisy scenes on Tuesday when many advocates started speaking at the same time.

The system of advocacy in India is hierarchy-ridden. There are advocates, senior advocates and advocates-on-record in the profession.

While any lawyer enrolled with a state Bar Council is entitled to practise law, senior lawyers are designated from among general advocates by the SC or a High Court in recognition of their better understanding of law and related skills. 

However, in recent times, the issue of designating advocates as senior advocates has been marred in controversy with former Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising filing a PIL on the issue.

While any advocate can file a case before a court and argue, senior advocates can neither file a case nor can they directly take up a case from a client. The latter has to be engaged by an advocate.

But filing of cases in the Supreme Court is mandatorily done through advocates-on-record, who get the tag after qualifying an examination conducted by the court. Arguments can be advanced by any advocate, senior advocate or an advocate-on-record in the top court.

Senior advocate KTS Tulsi welcomed it. “It’s a good thing. Advocates-on-record are fully capable…and they are aware of the nuances of mentioning. We need to develop the next generation of lawyers to serve the people. The same kind of practice was adopted by CJI (MN) Venkatachaliah and it worked well,” Tulsi said.

Advocate PV Dinesh, who had raised the issue before the CJI on Tuesday, welcomed the decision. 

“There are certain practices that are followed in the legal profession in the interest of justice and for a cordial relationship between the Bar and the Bench. Many a time the court used to feel helpless if a senior counsel violated the long-held traditions. What we need is self-restraint. It would have been better if it had happened without a court direction. But since certain senior advocates were misusing it, the CJI’s intervention is welcome,” Dinesh said. However, many advocates said the CJI should have allowed junior advocates other than advocates-on-record as well.

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