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Supreme Court excludes Bar members from senior advocate designation process
New Supreme Court rules for senior advocate appointments exclude Bar members, altering the designation process followed since 2017
New Delhi: The Supreme Court’s full court has decided to excluded Bar Council representatives from the senior advocate selection committee, marking a shift from the practice since 2017, according to the latest guidelines approved on Tuesday.
The new rules, titled “Guidelines for Designation of Senior Advocates by the Supreme Court of India, 2026,” released by the top court on Wednesday, introduced changes to the designation process as outlined by a May 13, 2025 decision of a three-judge bench.
The 2026 guidelines remove the points-based assessment and limit the committee to the Chief Justice and two senior-most judges.
Under the earlier guidelines, the designation was to be recommended by a Permanent Committee at the Supreme Court, comprising the Chief Justice of India (CJI), the two senior-most judges of the top court, and two lawyer representatives—Attorney General and an eminent senior lawyer from the Bar Council of India, selected jointly by the remaining four members.
While the May 2025 judgment did not direct a change in the committee’s composition, it strongly advocated reconsideration of keeping lawyers out of the process. The full court, consisting of the CJI and all judges of the top court, met on Tuesday and decided to limit the committee’s composition to the CJI and the two senior-most judges. This committee will also determine the composition of the Permanent Secretariat meant to assist in this process.
Senior advocates are designated under Section 16 of the Advocates Act, 1961. It is an honour conferred by the high court or Supreme Court to lawyers with eminent standing, ability, and knowledge or experience of law at the Bar.
In 2017, following the judicial decision in the Indira Jaising case, a committee replaced the Full Court in determining senior advocate designations based on a points-based objective criteria. It included years of experience, contribution to judgments, publications, and expertise in any domain of law.
In 2023, the Indira Jaising case was modified, and the amended guidelines remained in force until questions of its efficacy were raised by a two-judge bench in Jitender @ Kalla vs. State in February 2025. This decision was referred to the CJI, who formed a three-judge bench (as the 2017 and 2023 decisions were also by benches of the same strength) that delivered the final decision in May last year.
The May 2025 judgment ended the points system and the holding of interviews and stated that the decision to confer designation shall be that of the Full Court of the Supreme Court or high courts. Lawyers with a minimum of 10 years’ standing at the Bar were eligible to apply, with the process for calling for senior designation to be held at least once a year.
On the composition of the committee, the judgment said, “From what we have seen during the seven and a half years after Indira Jaising-1 (2017), perhaps, the involvement of the members of the Bar in the process calls for serious reconsideration.”
While the directions of the 2025 judgment have been incorporated by the Full Court, the only change pertains to the committee composition and extending eligibility to lawyers with at least 10 years’ combined standing as a lawyer or judicial officer of any court or tribunal.
The guidelines prescribe a minimum age of 45 years for becoming a senior advocate, which may be relaxed in suitable cases by the Full Court. Candidates for designation will be judged on four criteria—ability, standing at the Bar, special knowledge of law, and no criminal antecedents.
