Senior Designation System | Supreme Court Issues Notice To All High Courts On Issue Of Reconsideration Of 'Indira Jaising' Judgments

The Supreme Court will hear on March 19 the issue of reconsideration of the Indira Jaising judgments of 2017 and 2023, which govern the process of conferring the Senior Advocate designation to advocates.A bench of Justice Abhay Oka, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, and Justice SVN Bhatti issued notice to all High Courts and other stake holders while dealing with a case in which a two-judge bench (Jitender @ Kalla v. State (Govt.) of NCT of Delhi & Anr), last week, flagged several concerns about the procedure laid down by the two judgments in Indira Jaising cases.“We direct the Registrar (Judicial) to forward a copy of this order along with the copy of the order in Jitender Kalla case to Registrar Generals of all the High Courts informing them that the date is fixed on 19th March and the High Courts are free to submit their responses and suggestions, if any, well in advance on or before 7th March. If any other party to the Indira Jaising case wants to file a response in writing, it shall be on or before 6th of March”, the Court stated.As the two judgments were passed by three-judge benches, the two-judge bench had referred the matter to the Chief Justice of India to form a bench of appropriate strength, after which the current bench was formed.Today, the Court noted Senior Advocate Indira Jaising's contention that if the two judgments are to be reconsidered, it must be done by an even larger bench and said that it will be open for her to make submissions on this issue.“At this stage, we may also note her contention that if Indira Jaising I and Indira Jaising II are to be reconsidered, it has to be by a larger bench of larger strength. However, it will be open for her to canvass the issue”, the Court said.The Court issued notice to the respondents in the Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India case in which the 2017 judgment was passed. Since Advocate Vipin Nair, president of the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) appeared on behalf of SCAORA, the court said that notice is not required to be served to them. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated that he would inform the Attorney General for India and the Union of India so that they can be represented. The Court issued notice to the rest of the respondents. The Court further said that the Attorney General, if present, will be given the first opportunity to make submissions, followed by the Solicitor General and other counsel representing the parties in the Indira Jaising and Jitender Kalla cases. Senior Advocate Indira Jaising will have the last opportunity to submit her arguments.In the last week's judgment. the Supreme Court had emphasized that the system should ensure that only deserving advocates receive the designation, as conferring it on undeserving candidates can affect the judiciary's prestige.The concerns raised by the court include whether an advocate can seek designation, given that Section 16(2) of the Advocates Act stipulates that designation is a privilege to be conferred by the Supreme Court or High Court. Other concerns include the adequacy of brief interviews for assessing a candidate's personality, whether the points system for evaluating candidates can account for integrity and fairness, and the mechanical assignment of points based solely on years of practice without considering active involvement. The Court also questioned whether the interview process might undermine the dignity of the advocates and transform the designation process into a selection process. The Court also flagged that the present system doest not give opportunities to meritorious lawyers in trial courts, as they cannot secure points under the head 'reported judgments'.Case no. – Crl.A. No. 865/2025 Diary No. 12735 / 2024Case Title – Jitender @ Kalla v. State (Govt.) of NCT of Delhi & Anr. Click Here To Read/Download Order

Senior Designation System | Supreme Court Issues Notice To All High Courts On Issue Of Reconsideration Of 'Indira Jaising' Judgments

Amisha Shrivastava

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