Meghalaya HC amends Rules to give Senior gown to “any” lawyer, SC issues notice

Shillong, it would appear, has not quite gotten the message from Delhi. The controversy surrounding Senior Advocate designations from Meghalaya came to the fore in the Supreme Court yet again..An amendment to the Rules relating to designations by the Meghalaya High Court has resulted in another petition by the Shillong High Court Bar Association..As per the amendment, any Senior Advocate in the country can recommend to the High Court the name of any advocate practising anywhere in the country for the Senior gown..The amendment comes close on the heels of a challenge in the apex court relating to certain Senior designations made by the Meghalaya High Court. That matter had its genesis in the designation of a Delhi-based advocate in 2014 by the Meghalaya High Court. The designation was allegedly made in violation of the Rules framed by the High Court itself..Things did not end there, as two more Delhi-based lawyers were made seniors a year later. This time, however, the High Court amended the criteria prescribed by the Rules, allegedly to facilitate the designations..This was challenged in the Supreme Court and the Court had then proceeded to issue notice in that matter. This, it has to be believed, had prompted new amendments to the Rules relating to Senior designations..A Bench of Justices JS Khehar and Arun Mishra stayed the amendment and issued notice to the Meghalaya High Court. Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora appeared for the Shillong High Court Bar Association..When the case came up for hearing today, Arora submitted that the “Rules have been amended subsequently”..“Any Senior counsel anywhere in the country can recommend any advocate anywhere in the country. One need not practise in Meghalaya High Court. One may be practising on Chennai and I, who am in Delhi can recommend him for a [senior] gown in Meghalaya.”.The court then issued notice to the High Court and also stayed the notification amending the Rules. The matter has now been tagged with the earlier case that made its way to the Supreme Court. Interestingly, another Bench of the Supreme Court is hearing a petition filed by Senior Advocate Indira Jaising relating to absence of any Rules or procedure in Supreme Court for designations.