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Synopsis

The Supreme Court of India on Friday refused to entertain a petition challenging the designation of 70 advocates as Senior Advocates by the Delhi High Court.

A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih expressed its disinclination to hear the matter and dismissed the plea.

Following this, the petitioner, Advocate Sanjay Dubey, sought to withdraw the case.

On November 29, 2024, the Delhi High Court’s Full Court conferred Senior Advocate status on 70 lawyers after interviewing 302 candidates.

The senior designation was conferred by a permanent committee comprising Chief Justice Manmohan, the next two senior most judges of the High Court, Vibhu Bakhru and Yashwant Varma, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and senior advocates Sudhir Nandrajog and Mohit Mathur evaluated the candidates.

High Court's decision has been under the spotlight since one of the members of the Permanent Committee resigned over claims that the final list was prepared without his consent.

Allegedly, Senior Advocate Nandrajog did not sign on the final list, which was circulated to the full court for deliberation, as he was busy in arbitration for two days.

Furthermore, the controversy centres on claims that the final list that was presented for the full court’s approval had been altered, deviating from the original list that the committee had intended.

It is being suggested that the original list, which was more thoroughly vetted and approved by the Permanent Committee, was tampered with or modified before it reached the full court for consideration.

Case Title: SANJAY DUBEY  Versus THE FULL COURT REFERENCE OF THE HONBLE JUDGES OF THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI THROUGH REGISTRAR GENERAL AND ORS.