New Delhi, Feb 11 The Supreme Court on Wednesday notified new guidelines for the designation of senior advocates, modifying its earlier criterion.
According to the notification, in terms of a May 2025 decision of the apex court, the ‘Guidelines for Designation of Senior Advocates by the Supreme Court of India, 2023’ have been amended, modified or replaced.
In a full court meeting held on February 10, the Chief Justice of India and the judges of the Supreme Court approved the new guidelines titled as ‘Guidelines for Designation of Senior Advocates by the Supreme Court of India, 2026’.
According to the new framework, a permanent committee, titled ‘Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates’, will deal with all matters related to the designation of senior advocates in the apex court.
The committee will comprise the CJI as the chairperson and two senior-most judges as its members
“The committee shall meet whenever exigencies require. It shall have a permanent secretariat, whose composition will be decided by the CJI in consultation with the members of the committee,” the notification said.
It added that the committee’s secretariat will initiate the process for the designation at least once each year by inviting applications from advocates, and that a minimum of 21 days will be given to the applicants to submit their applications online.
The new rules also prescribe the eligibility conditions, including the minimum age of 45 years, 10 years standing as an advocate, and the request for designation not being rejected within the last two years.
It said that the secretariat will put up the proposals before the full court, which would examine each application and make its overall assessment based on ability, standing at the bar or special knowledge or experience in law of the candidates.
“An advocate 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 any state Bar council/Bar Council of India for any act of misconduct,” the notification said.
It also detailed the decision-making process by the full court, besides providing a separate process, through a request-cum-consent letter in the prescribed format, for former chief justices and high court judges seeking the designation.
The notification also mentioned the full court’s power to review and recall its decision regarding the designation if an advocate was “found guilty of conduct which, according to the full court, disentitled him to designation”.
It said, “All questions relating to interpretation and/or application of these guidelines shall be referred to the CJI, whose decision shall be final. The CJI may issue directions for the removal of difficulties either in general terms or in a particular instance, as the exigencies may require.”
