The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a petition challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision to confer Senior Advocate designations on 70 lawyers.
A Bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and A.G. Masih refused to admit the plea filed by advocate Sanjay Dubey but allowed him to withdraw it.
The petitioner had alleged that the list included advocates linked to sitting High Court judges.
On November 29, 2024, the Full Court of the Delhi High Court designated 70 lawyers as Senior Advocates after interviewing 302 candidates. However, the decision soon became controversial following the resignation of a member of the Permanent Committee, who claimed the final list was prepared without his consent.
The Permanent Committee consists of Chief Justice Manmohan, Justice Vibhu Bakhru, Justice Yashwant Varma, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, and Senior Advocates Mohit Mathur and Sudhir Nandrajog.
Sources indicate that Nandrajog, a representative of the Delhi government, did not sign the final list circulated to the Full Court for deliberation, as he was occupied with an arbitration at the time. It was also alleged that the final list had been altered from the originally agreed-upon version.
