IMPORTANT POINT
The designation of Senior Advocates must adhere to established guidelines ensuring fairness and transparency, with discretion allowed for waiving interviews under specific circumstances.

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Vishnu Behari Tewari, in person and Sri Rohit Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner in Writ (C) No. 19326 of 2019 and Sri G.K. Singh, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Sri Ashish Mishra & Sri Chandan Sharma, learned counsel for the Allahabad High Court.

2. Matter has been received upon nomination made. Since one of us was party to the Full Court Meeting held on 18.05.2019, that fact was clarified to the parties, on 08.04.2024. All parties consented that the matter may be heard by this bench. Accordingly, it has been proceeded.

3. On 25.09.2019, the present petition was filed for the following relief:

(i) TO ISSUE a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari quashing the minutes of the meeting of Permanent Committee constituted under sub-rule (1) of Rule 3 of The Designation of Senior Advocate Rules, 2018 held on 10.05.2019 at 4.30 P.M. in the Committee Room at Allahabad High Court.

(ii) TO ISSUE writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus declaring the words “if it is so desires may in the sub-rule (5) of Rule 6 of The Designation of Senior Advocate Rules, 2018 is contravention of the paragraph No. 73.7 of the Apex Court judgment cited in (2017) 9 SCC 766 Indira Jaising vs. Supreme Court of India though Secretary General & others, as ultra vires being arbitrary, discriminatory, unjust, illegal and violative of Article 14, 15 & 21 of the Constitution of India.

(iii) TO ISSUE a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus restraining the Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad not to designate the approved Advocates by Full Court Meeting held on 18.05.2019 as Senior Advocate under Section 16 of the Advocates Act, 1961.

(iv) TO ISSUE a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus restraining the Registrar General of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad not to notify the designation of Advocate as Senior Advocate in compliance of sub-rule (2) of Rule 7 of the Designation of Senior Advocate Rules, 2018.

(v) TO ISSUE any other writ order or direction which this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case.

(vi) TO AWARD cost of the writ petition to the petitioner.

4. Challenge raised in the present petition, amongst others, is to the proceedings, resolution and consequential action arising from the Full Court Meeting of this Court dated 18.05.2019. Since both writ petitions have been heard together, for the sake of convenience, we refer to the facts in Writ (C) No. 17736 of 2019, as that petition has been argued first.

5. Section 16 of the Advocates Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) provides for designation of Senior Advocates. It reads as under:

“Section 16 of the Advocates Act states the following:

(1) There shall be two classes of advocates, namely, senior advocates and other advocates.

(2) An advocate may, with his consent, be designated as senior advocate if the Supreme Court or the High Court is of opinion that by virtue of his ability [standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law] he is deserving of such distinction.

(3) Senior advocates shall, in the matter of their practice, be subject to such restrictions as the Bar Council of India may, in the interests of the legal profession, prescribe.

(4) An advocate of the Supreme Court who was a senior advocate of that Court immediately before the appointed day shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be a senior advocate:

Provided that where any such senior advocate makes an application before the 31st December 1965 to the Bar Council maintaining the roll in which his name has been entered that he does not desire to continue as a senior advocate, the Bar Council may grant the application and the roll shall be altered accordingly.”

6. Thus, other things apart, under the scheme of the Act, designation as a Senior Advocate comes by way of a ‘distinction’ conferred, either by the Supreme Court or a High Court. It arises on the subjective opinion of the S