CJI Dipak Misra Permits Junior Lawyers, In Addition To AORs, To Make Mentions, Subject To Accuracy

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra, during the morning mentioning on Thursday, permitted junior advocates also to make mentions, in accession to the Advocates-on-Record (AORs).

Earlier, on September 20, 2017, the Chief Justice had restrained senior counsels from mentioning urgent matters and fresh appeals, pleas or interim applications, and made it categorical that the privilege shall be restricted to only the AORs.

On Thursday, the Chief Justice remarked, “It is of the essence that the junior advocates also find out the art of observing.erving. So they may too be allowed to make mentions besides the AORs, subject to the condition that they be very accurate”.

“Articulation and preparation are the 2 requests to junior counsels making mentions in the forenoon,” continued Chief Justice Misra.

Nevertheless, the Chief Justice refused to assent to the petition that the junior counsels making mentions are of necessity accompanied by the concerned AOR.

The restraint against senior counsels engaging in the pattern of mentioning was on account of a ruckus breaking out between ‘queue-breaking’ senior advocates and non-senior advocates in the court of the Chief Justice during the first 20 minutes of the daily ritual of mentioning before the CJI. As a consequence, only designated seniors got a prospect to prepare submissions and those guests who could not afford seniors were gone forth in the lurch, unable to hit it within the allotted time.

Since the CJI is the administrative head of the Supreme Court, mentioning for listing, tagging and so forth can be performed before the first court only.

 

 By- Tushar Solanki, Co-convener, Reporter Committee, INBA