Gujarat High Court Mandates 45-Year Minimum Age, 20 Yrs Practice For Senior Advocate Designation; Can't Appear For Mentioning

The Gujarat High Court has mandated that advocates applying for senior advocate designation must be of minimum 45-year age to claim eligibility, in its newly notified High Court of Gujarat (Designation of Senior Advocate) Rules, 2025.The Rules which were published and notified on September 17 states:"3. Eligibility condition for designation of Senior Advocate :(a) An advocate shall be eligible to be designated as Senior Advocate, if he/she : (i) has minimum standing of 20 years at the Bar ordinarily practicing in the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad and/or before District Judiciary/Specialized Tribunal, preceding the date of consideration of his/her case for designation as a Senior Advocate;(ii) At the time of making application for designation of senior advocate, the age of the applicant shall not be less than 45 years.(iii) possesses ability, legal acumen, special knowledge or distinction and reputation achieved in practice of law.(iv) has participated in pro bono work; (v) has not been convicted by a competent court of law and should not have been punished for an offence involving moral turpitude or contempt of court or should not have been punished by the Bar Council of Gujarat or by the Bar Council of India for any act of misconduct". Rule 5 (Undertaking) requires senior advocates to undertake, among other things:-Not to draft or file pleadings;-Not to advise litigants directly or accept briefs from clients;-Not to file vakalatnamas (with only assisting advocates filing memos of intimation);-Not to appear for adjournments or mentions;-To mentor at least 2–3 junior lawyers with less than 3 years' experience;-To refrain from holding posts such as standing counsel for government or public bodies.Meanwhile Senior advocate and former GHCAA president Yatin Oza, has written to Brijesh Trivedi, President of the Gujarat High Court Advocates' Association (GHCAA), raising his strong objections to this undertaking rule. Oza has taken exception to Rule 5 ('Undertaking') of the 2025 rules, which requires a designated senior advocate to submit a written undertaking stating that he/she will not draft pleadings, directly advise litigants, file vakalatnamas, accept briefs from the clients or even seek adjournments.In his letter dated September 19, Oza urged Trivedi to take up the matter with the Chief Justice and called for the deletion of the 'undertaking' rule.According to Oza, the requirement of furnishing an undertaking "compromises the dignity and self-respect of senior advocates", since, he contends, the obligations listed are already implicit in the very concept of senior designation."It goes without saying that in absence of an undertaking also, if what is sought to be achieved by an undertaking is not adhered to, then necessary consequences can follow", Oza argues.He adds that instead of compelling a signed undertaking, the objectives could simply be incorporated within the rules as norms. Oza further pointed out that neither the Supreme Court's guidelines on the designation of seniors nor the Bombay High Court Rules require such an undertaking. In Bombay, he notes, similar provisions are described as 'norms and guidelines' and not as binding undertakings.He has also called the Gujarat rule to be 'belittling and derogatory to the stature of the Bar Association as a whole'. Thus, he has requested the GHCAA President to act as a representative voice of the Bar and seek the removal of the clause.Click Here To Read/Download Rules

Gujarat High Court Mandates 45-Year Minimum Age, 20 Yrs Practice For Senior Advocate Designation; Can't Appear For Mentioning

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