The
Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging the designation of
lawyers as senior advocates.
A
bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul delivered its verdict on a plea
filed by advocate Mathews J Nedumpara and seven others.
The
petitioners had challenged sections 16 and 23 (5) of the Advocates Act, 1961,
claiming these "creates two classes of lawyers, senior advocates and other
advocates, which in actual practice has resulted in unthinkable catastrophe and
inequities which Parliament certainly would not have contemplated or
foreseen".
While
section 16 of the Advocates Act pertains to senior and other advocates, section
23 (5) says senior advocates shall have pre-audience over other lawyers and
their right of pre-audience inter se shall be determined by their respective
seniority.
The plea had claimed that designation of lawyers as
senior advocates, which is "creating a special class of advocates with
special rights, privileges and status not available to ordinary advocates, is
unconstitutional, being violative of the mandate of equality under Article
14".