Questioning the haste and transparency of the process, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Delhi High Court to reconsider the cases of lawyers whose applications for Senior Advocate designation were either rejected or deferred during the selection process held in November 2024.
A Bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order in a petition filed by Advocate Raman Gandhi, who had challenged the High Court’s decision to confer senior designation on only 70 out of 302 candidates who were interviewed. The designation process had sparked controversy after one of the Permanent Committee members, Senior Advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, resigned, alleging the final list was prepared without his approval.
According to the Supreme Court, “The applications of the deferred and rejected applicants shall be placed before the Committee which shall be processed according to the rules of 2024. It may be done expeditiously.” The Court also directed the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court to take steps to reconstitute the Permanent Committee for Senior Designations.
As per records, 67 applications had been deferred while many others were outrightly rejected. The Supreme Court held that all such applications must be reconsidered in accordance with the prescribed procedure.
The designation process is governed by the framework laid down in the Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India judgment (2017), which mandated the formation of a Permanent Committee to screen candidates before the Full Court takes a final decision.
On February 17, the top court had issued notice to the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court and had also sought a response from Senior Advocate Nandrajog, who submitted his reply in a sealed cover.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the Court questioned the pace at which the designation process had been completed last year. “What is the tearing hurry for designation? If we go into how the process was done, it will not meet any ends,” the Bench remarked.
Senior Advocates Siddharth Mridul and Vikas Singh appeared in the matter.
