The Karnataka High Court today reserved its judgment in the Senior Advocate designation case..Over the last three days, arguments were heard before a two-judge bench comprising Acting Chief Justice SK Mukherjee and Justice Nagarathna..Here’s a timeline of the case so far:.DateEventFebruary 13, 2014The Full Court resolves to fix norms for designation of Senior CounselMarch 21, 2014Rules framed by committee and placed before Full Court before vacation; matter is deferredJune 30, 2014Notification on designation of four Senior Advocates publishedJuly 14, 2014Notification on designation of eleven more Senior Advocates publishedJuly 25, 2014Writ filed by advocate TN Raghupathy in HC challenging designationsJuly 28, 2014Writ filed by advocate M VeerabhadraiahAugust 4, 2014HC rules that petitioners have no locus to file the writDecember 16, 2014SC directs HC to hear matter on meritsJuly 8, 2015Arguments commence in ACJ SK Mukherjee’s courtJuly 10, 2015Judgment reserved.It is a case that has gone back and forth from the high court to the Supreme Court, and after a year, it’s anybody’s guess as to what the bench will decide. If the petitioners get a favourable decision, it will likely affect the manner in which Senior designations are done in high courts across the country..However, the bench did offer glimpses of their opinion on the matter. During the course of the hearings, Justice Mukherjee kept suggesting to the parties to come to an amicable solution without airing the Bar’s dirty laundry in public. The Bar itself seems to be divided on the issue – while some sections see no wrong in the designations made last July, others feel that Senior Counsel is not a job that one can “apply” for..There is another litigation on the same matter pending in the Supreme Court. As reported earlier, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising has filed a PIL challenging the manner of designating Seniors in the apex court. The high court may choose to reserve their decision until this matter is dealt with. According to advocate TN Raghupathy, that matter is likely to be listed some time next week..On a related note, this publication found mention during the course of the proceedings. One of the petitions contains a news report published by Bar & Bench, which broke the story on the first four Senior designations. The report reveals how many votes each Senior designate received during the Full Court meeting..Senior Advocate N Devadas, appearing for the petitioner, lamented the fact that they could not find this information even after filing an RTI.
The Karnataka High Court today reserved its judgment in the Senior Advocate designation case..Over the last three days, arguments were heard before a two-judge bench comprising Acting Chief Justice SK Mukherjee and Justice Nagarathna..Here’s a timeline of the case so far:.DateEventFebruary 13, 2014The Full Court resolves to fix norms for designation of Senior CounselMarch 21, 2014Rules framed by committee and placed before Full Court before vacation; matter is deferredJune 30, 2014Notification on designation of four Senior Advocates publishedJuly 14, 2014Notification on designation of eleven more Senior Advocates publishedJuly 25, 2014Writ filed by advocate TN Raghupathy in HC challenging designationsJuly 28, 2014Writ filed by advocate M VeerabhadraiahAugust 4, 2014HC rules that petitioners have no locus to file the writDecember 16, 2014SC directs HC to hear matter on meritsJuly 8, 2015Arguments commence in ACJ SK Mukherjee’s courtJuly 10, 2015Judgment reserved.It is a case that has gone back and forth from the high court to the Supreme Court, and after a year, it’s anybody’s guess as to what the bench will decide. If the petitioners get a favourable decision, it will likely affect the manner in which Senior designations are done in high courts across the country..However, the bench did offer glimpses of their opinion on the matter. During the course of the hearings, Justice Mukherjee kept suggesting to the parties to come to an amicable solution without airing the Bar’s dirty laundry in public. The Bar itself seems to be divided on the issue – while some sections see no wrong in the designations made last July, others feel that Senior Counsel is not a job that one can “apply” for..There is another litigation on the same matter pending in the Supreme Court. As reported earlier, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising has filed a PIL challenging the manner of designating Seniors in the apex court. The high court may choose to reserve their decision until this matter is dealt with. According to advocate TN Raghupathy, that matter is likely to be listed some time next week..On a related note, this publication found mention during the course of the proceedings. One of the petitions contains a news report published by Bar & Bench, which broke the story on the first four Senior designations. The report reveals how many votes each Senior designate received during the Full Court meeting..Senior Advocate N Devadas, appearing for the petitioner, lamented the fact that they could not find this information even after filing an RTI.
