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Synopsis

The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, has issued a show cause notice to Senior Advocate Rishi Malhotra, questioning why his senior advocate designation should not be revoked.

The decision was made during a full court meeting held on March 12, following concerns raised about Malhotra’s professional conduct. According to sources, the meeting focused on “sharp practices adopted by Malhotra,” which had come under scrutiny in recent months.

The full court was convened after CJI Khanna was informed of a February 20 judgment authored by Justice Abhay S. Oka. The judgment highlighted irregularities in the senior designation process and pointed to Malhotra’s conduct as a case in point, prompting the matter to be referred to the CJI for further action.

“We make it clear that we are not recording any final finding against Shri Rishi Malhotra, senior advocate, on the question whether his designation can be withdrawn. We leave it to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India to take a call on this issue,” the judgment mentioned.

The February judgment raised concerns about the suppression of crucial facts in a case handled by Malhotra. It was revealed that an appeal for remission of a convict’s sentence, filed under the name of Advocate-on-Record (AoR) Jaydip Pati, failed to disclose critical details. When questioned, Pati filed an affidavit explaining that he had signed the appeal at Malhotra’s request without being aware of omitted critical facts. Pati further stated that he trusted Malhotra, given their past professional relationship, and signed the pleadings without doubt.

The court had then noted: “Mr. Jaydip Pati, Advocate-on-Record has filed an affidavit pursuant to order passed by this Court. To say the least, the contents are shocking. We will elaborately deal with the stand taken by him at an appropriate stage. In view of what is stated in the affidavit, we issue notice to Shri Rishi Malhotra, learned Senior Advocate to appear before this Court for explaining what is stated in the affidavit filed by Mr. Jaydip Pati, Advocate-on-Record.”

In December 2024, a bench led by Justice Oka criticized Malhotra’s conduct in another instance, where he allegedly failed to keep his client informed about the status of a case despite accepting fees. These actions contributed to the court’s decision to consider revocation of his senior designation.

Malhotra, designated as a Senior Advocate in August 2024, has faced controversies since late 2024. Notably, in January 2023, then-CJI DY Chandrachud had praised Malhotra for his transparent presentation of facts before the court, including unfavourable ones.