46
New Delhi: The much-awaited list of advocates to be designated as Senior Advocates by the Supreme Court is expected to be released in the coming weeks, with lawyers familiar with the process expecting the exercise to be completed before Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant demits office on 9 February 2027.
As many as 357 advocates are in the fray for the designation, making the current exercise significantly larger than the previous round in which 39 advocates were designated Senior Advocates in August 2024.
The present exercise is the first major designation process under the Supreme Court’s Guidelines for Designation of Senior Advocates, 2026.
The Supreme Court had initially received 293 applications by 9 March 2026, the original deadline for applications. Following requests from advocates, the deadline was subsequently extended to 2 April resulting in 64 additional applications and taking the total number of applicants to 357.
The names of the applicants were published by the Supreme Court as part of the process for inviting views and suggestions from stakeholders. The exercise is being conducted under the new guidelines approved by the Full Court in February 2026.
The Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates comprises the Chief Justice of India and the two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. The committee is headed by CJI Surya Kant and includes Justice Vikram Nath and Justice B.V. Nagarathna. The committee undertakes the scrutiny and assessment process before placing the matter before the Full Court. The final decision on designation is taken by the Full Court and not by the three-member committee alone.
A key consideration before the body deciding the designations is likely to be the question of how many of the 357 applicants should ultimately be designated, as meeting the eligibility criteria does not by itself guarantee designation and the Full Court is not expected to designate all eligible applicants.
The list includes advocates with long-standing experience at the Bar as well as lawyers from established legal families. The applicants also include lawyers who have family or professional links with prominent political families and individuals, adding to the breadth of backgrounds represented in the current pool of candidates.
Lawyers familiar with the exercise expect the number of designations to be substantially higher than in some of the previous rounds, with estimates within the Bar ranging from around 50 to 100 advocates. The final number, however, will be decided by the Full Court and there is no official indication yet of how many advocates will receive the designation.
The scale of the current exercise is considerably larger than the most recent comparable process. In April 2024, the Supreme Court had published a revised list of 140 advocates who had applied for designation. On 14 August 2024, the Full Court designated 39 advocates as Senior Advocates from that exercise.
An earlier exercise under the 2023 guidelines had involved 200 candidates. The Supreme Court designated 56 advocates as Senior Advocates on 19 January 2024. Five more advocates were designated in March 2024 and another 39 in August 2024 as the process progressed.
Under the 2026 guidelines, an advocate seeking designation must ordinarily have completed at least 10 years of standing at the Bar and must ordinarily have attained the age of 45 years. The Full Court can relax the age requirement in appropriate cases. The guidelines also provide for consideration of an advocate’s legal ability, advocacy skills, standing at the Bar, professional conduct, integrity, reputation, pro bono work and special knowledge or experience in law.
The designation of Senior Advocate is a formal professional recognition under the Advocates Act, 1961. It confers enhanced professional standing at the Bar, but also imposes restrictions on the manner in which the advocate can practise. A Senior Advocate cannot ordinarily file a vakalatnama or act in court without an Advocate-on-Record in the Supreme Court and is required to work through an assisting advocate in the manner prescribed by the rules.
The designation process is therefore being closely watched within the Supreme Court Bar, with the final list expected to be one of the significant decisions involving the Bar before the end of CJI Surya Kant’s tenure.