{"id":46669,"date":"2025-05-14T06:55:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T01:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=46669"},"modified":"2025-05-18T00:30:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T19:00:07","slug":"supreme-court-scraps-points-system-for-senior-advocate-designation-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/supreme-court-scraps-points-system-for-senior-advocate-designation-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Scraps Points System for Senior Advocate Designation in India"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Senior Advocate Designation Latest News<\/li>\n<li>Senior Advocates in India<\/li>\n<li>Background: 2017 Framework<\/li>\n<li>Supreme Court Abolishes Point-Based System for Senior Advocate Designation<\/li>\n<li>Senior Advocate Designation FAQs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Senior Advocate Designation Latest News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Supreme Court has scrapped the existing points-based system for designating senior advocates in the Supreme Court and High Courts.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Instead, it issued new guidelines stating that the decision to confer the designation will now rest solely with the Full Court of the respective courts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Senior Advocates in India<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Senior advocates are highly experienced and knowledgeable legal professionals recognized for their expertise and contribution to the legal field.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>They are typically involved in high-profile cases and play a crucial role in upholding the <strong>Rule of Law<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Legal basis<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Section 16 of the Advocates Act, 1961 classifies advocates into two categories: Senior Advocates; Other Advocates (Non-designated or Junior Advocates).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Legal Provisions for Designation<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Section 16(2) of the Advocates Act, 1961 and Rule 2(a) of Order IV of the Supreme Court Rules, 1966 govern the designation process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Key Conditions for Designation<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The Chief Justice and judges of the court must be satisfied with the advocate\u2019s fitness for the designation.<\/li>\n<li>The advocate must have exceptional legal knowledge and expertise.<\/li>\n<li>Prior consent of the advocate is mandatory.<\/li>\n<li>The selection must be based solely on merit, not influence or seniority.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Restrictions on Senior Advocates<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Senior Advocates are bound by specific ethical and procedural restrictions to maintain the dignity of their position:\n<ul>\n<li>Cannot appear in court without a junior or an Advocate-on-Record.<\/li>\n<li>Prohibited from drafting pleadings or affidavits themselves.<\/li>\n<li>Cannot accept briefs or instructions directly from clients.<\/li>\n<li>Not allowed to file applications or represent clients independently.<\/li>\n<li>Must adhere to a distinct code of conduct separate from other advocates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Background: 2017 Framework<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>India\u2019s first woman Senior Advocate Indira Jaising had filed a petition in SC challenging the existing process of designation.\n<ul>\n<li>She termed this process as opaque, arbitrary and fraught with nepotism and sought greater transparency in the process of designating.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The 2017 SC ruling on senior advocate Indira Jaising\u2019s petition led to the formation of:\n<ul>\n<li>A Permanent Committee headed by the CJI or HC Chief Justice.<\/li>\n<li>Guidelines including interviews and a points system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>2017 System (Indira Jaising \u2013 I)<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Under the 2017 system, a Permanent Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates was formed.<\/li>\n<li>It was headed by the Chief Justice (of SC or respective HC), the two senior-most judges, the Attorney General (for SC), or Advocate General (for HCs).\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The committee evaluated candidates using a <strong>point-based system<\/strong> based on:\n<ul>\n<li>Years of legal practice<\/li>\n<li>Reported judgments<\/li>\n<li>Publications<\/li>\n<li>Personal interviews<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Amendment in 2023 (Indira Jaising \u2013 II)<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>In response to the Centre\u2019s concerns over the subjectivity and misuse of the 2017 point-based system for designating senior advocates, the Supreme Court issued new guidelines in May 2023.<\/li>\n<li>The new guidelines set a minimum age of 45 for senior advocate designation (with possible relaxation), reduce marks for publications to 5, and increase weightage for reported\/unreported judgments to 50 points, aiming for a fairer, merit-based system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Supreme Court Abolishes Point-Based System for Senior Advocate Designation<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Supreme Court scrapped the points-based assessment system it had introduced in 2017 for designating senior advocates in the Supreme Court and High Courts.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>New Guidelines Issued<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Full Court Authority<\/strong>: The Full Court of the SC or respective HC will now make final decisions on designation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Role of Permanent Secretariat<\/strong>: The Permanent Secretariat created under the 2017 rules will continue to scrutinize applications and submit eligible names to the Full Court.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Decision by Consensus or Voting<\/strong>: The Full Court should aim for consensus, but may adopt a <strong>voting process<\/strong>\u2014including a <strong>secret ballot<\/strong>, if required.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Minimum Eligibility Unchanged<\/strong>: The requirement of a minimum <strong>10 years of legal practice<\/strong> remains valid.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Application Not Mandatory<\/strong>: Designation may be conferred even without a formal application.<\/li>\n<li><strong>No Individual Recommendations<\/strong>: Judges are barred from individually recommending candidates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Why the Change<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The system had not achieved desired results over the past 7.5 years.<\/li>\n<li>Caliber and legal experience cannot be quantified through a numerical score or brief interview.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Current Trigger for Change<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The decision came during the hearing of an unrelated case regarding remission, when the apex court expressed concern over the conduct of a senior advocate.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>This prompted the court to revisit and revise the senior designation guidelines to make the process more transparent and effective.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Senior Advocate Designation FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> Why did SC scrap the point-based system?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> SC found the system arbitrary and ineffective in reflecting the real merit of senior advocate candidates over 7.5 years.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2.<\/strong> Who will now decide senior designations?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> The Full Court of SC or HCs will finalize senior advocate designations by consensus or voting, replacing prior assessment method.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3.<\/strong> What were 2017 guidelines for designation?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> A Permanent Committee evaluated candidates on points from interviews, judgments, and publications based on Indira Jaising\u2019s petition.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4.<\/strong> What is the legal basis for senior designation?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> Section 16 of the Advocates Act, 1961, and Supreme Court Rules govern senior advocate classification and designation process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5.<\/strong> Are formal applications still required?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> No, courts can confer senior designation even without a formal application, ensuring more discretion and transparency in the process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/supreme-court-guidelines-senior-advocate-designations-10000065\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deccanherald.com\/india\/hardly-objective-highly-subjective-supreme-court-removes-points-based-assessment-for-senior-designation-of-lawyers-3539131\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">DH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/process-for-designating-senior-advocates-9515705\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court ends point-based system for senior advocate designation; Full Court to decide based on merit, aiming for greater transparency and fairness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":46670,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-46669","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}