India News | SCBA, SCAoRA Challenge Rules on Marking Appearances in SC Orders
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAoRA) have jointly filed a petition in the apex court on Tuesday seeking a declaration that all advocates present and appearing in a case are entitled to have their appearances recorded in court orders.
New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAoRA) have jointly filed a petition in the apex court on Tuesday seeking a declaration that all advocates present and appearing in a case are entitled to have their appearances recorded in court orders.
The petition is filed in relation to an observation made by the Supreme Court in the 2024 case titled as Bhagwan Singh vs State of UP.
The top court had noted that "Advocates-on-Record (AoR) may mark the appearances of only those advocates who are authorised to appear and argue the case on the particular day of hearing".
The SCBA and the SCAoRA, in their plea, said this observation deviates from established practices, where the Supreme Court has historically recorded the appearances of all advocates who contribute to the adjudication of a case.
The plea emphasises that the role of an advocate extends beyond making oral submissions before the court.
"Representation or appearance before the court is not limited to making submissions, especially in the Supreme Court. Advocates play a pivotal role in researching case laws, securing client instructions, preparing briefs for senior advocates, drafting pleadings and more. Limiting the interpretation of 'appearance' to only oral submissions undermines these contributions," it said.
According to prevailing practices, the Advocate-on-Record typically includes the names of all advocates who assist in drafting, briefing senior counsel, representing parties in lower courts or supporting the case in other capacities.
This acknowledgment recognises the collective effort that goes into preparing a case.
The plea seeks the formulation of uniform guidelines to ensure that all benches of the Supreme Court adopt consistent practices for recording appearances.
It said restricting the recording of appearances to only arguing counsel unfairly disregards the contributions of junior advocates and other team members who play critical roles in the case.
The petitioners further assert that such recognition is crucial for the professional development of advocates.
Recorded appearances serve as a metric for the eligibility to vote in bar association elections, allocation of chambers within the court premises, consideration for senior designation and empanelment for government assignments.
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