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NCT Delhi - Act

The High Court of Delhi Designation of Senior Advocate Rules, 2018

DELHI
India

The Delhi High Court Act, 1966

The High Court of Delhi Designation of Senior Advocate Rules, 2018

Published on 13 March 2019
Commenced on 13 March 2019
[This is the version of this document from 13 March 2019.]

Delhi, the 13th March , 2019No . 295 /Rules/DHC . — In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 7 of the Delhi High Court Act, 1966. (Act 26 of 1966 ) , Section 16 ( 2 ) of the Advocates Act, 1961 and all other powers enabling it in this behalf , the High Court of Delhi, hereby makes the following amendments in Chapter 6 - L , Volume V of High Court Rules & Orders :The following shall be substituted for the existing Chapter 6 - L :

Part L – RULES FRAMED BY THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI UNDER SECTION 16 ( 2 ) OF THE ADVOCATES ACT , 1961 FOR DESIGNATING AN ADVOCATE AS SENIOR ADVOCATE

( 1 ) Short title , extent and commencement: -

(i)These rules shall be called “ The High Court of Delhi Designation of Senior Advocate Rules, 2018 .

(ii)These Rules shall extend to the entire jurisdiction of the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi.

( iii ) These Rules shall come into force from the date of their publication in the Delhi Gazette .Definitions:- In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires:

(i)“ Advocate ” means an Advocate who is duly registered with the Bar Council of Delhi constituted under the Advocates Act, 1961.

( ii ) “ Committee” means the “ Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates” as constituted underRule 3 of these Rules ;( iii ) “ High Court” means the High Court of Delhi( iv ) “ Full Court” means all the Judges of the High Court present( v ) “Registrar General ” means the Registrar General of the High Court( vi) “ Secretariat ” means the Secretariat established by the Chief Justice of the High Court under Rule 4. of these Rules .( 3) Committee: - All matters relating to designation of Senior Advocates by the High Court of Delhi shall be dealt with by a Committee – “ Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates” comprising of the following members :

(i)Hon ble the Chief Justice – Chairperson of the Committee

(ii)Two Senior most Judges of the High Court

( iii ) Additional Solicitor General of India for the High Court( iv ) To be nominated by the Administrative Committee of the High Court out of the names of threeSenior Advocates given by the Government of NCT of Delhi( v ) Member of the Bar nominated by the aboveSecretariat:(i ) There shall be a Secretariat of the Committee , composition of which will be as directed byHon ble the Chief Justice in consultation with the other members of the Committee .( ii ) The Committee may issue such directions from time to time as deemed necessary regardingfunctioning of the Secretariat , including the manner in which , and the source/ s from which , thenecessary data and information with regard to designation of Senior Advocates are to becollected , compiled and presented .DELHIGAZETTE : EXTRAORDINARY

Part IV – ]

(5 ) Eligibility Conditions: No person shall be eligible for being designated as Senior Advocate unlesshe/ she -( i) has practiced as an Advocate at the Bar for not less than 10 years ;(ii)is enrolled with a Bar Council constituted under the Advocates Act, 1961;( iii) has been mainly practising in the High Court of Delhi and the Courts Subordinate to it; and( iv ) has appeared and argued cases or provided legal services pro -bono .Explanation : The eligibility condition with regard to minimum standing as a practising Advocateshall not apply to retired Judicial Officers of Delhi or those who have resigned having service and / orpractice of 10 years at their credit and retired High Court Judges.(6 ) Canvassing : Canvassing by a nominee for designation as a Senior Advocate shall disqualify him forbeing so designated .(7 ) Procedure for designation of an Advocate as Senior Advocate . An advocate may be considered bythe High Court for being designated as Senior Advocate either (A ) Suo Motu by the High Court or (B ) on aJoint Proposal by Senior Advocates( A ) Procedure Suo Motu :(i)An Advocate who fulfills the eligibility conditions prescribed hereinbefore , may beconsidered suo moto by the High Court for being designated as a Senior Advocate either onthe written proposal of a Judge of the High Court or of Hon ble the Chief Justice of the HighCourt.( ii) Such written proposal of a Judge or of Hon ble the Chief Justice shall be sent to theRegistrar General who shall forward it to the Secretariat after obtaining a consent – cum –personal information sheet (Annexure - A to these Rules ) duly filled in and signed by theAdvocate concerned .( B ) Procedure on Joint Proposal by Senior Advocates :( iii ) Three Senior Advocates designated by Delhi High Court , with not less than five yearsindividual standing at the Bar , as Senior Advocate, may jointly make a proposal to the HighCourt for designation of an Advocate as Senior Advocate .( iv ) Provided that no such Senior Advocate shall propose more than two names in twoconsecutive considerations by the Full Court and that the proposal( s ) so made by the SeniorAdvocate shall be signed and dated and a copy of the same shall be filed by the SeniorAdvocate making the proposal ( s) with the Secretariat within four weeks of the date ofissuance of such proposal (s ).(v ) Such joint proposal of three Senior Advocates shall be sent to the Registrar General whoshall forward it to the Secretariat after obtaining a consent – cum - personal informationsheet (Annexure - A to these Rules) duly filled in and signed by the Advocate concerned .( 8 ) Compilation of Data by the Secretariat: On receipt of all proposals including written proposals bythe Judges for designation of an Advocate as Senior Advocate , the Secretariat shall :( i) Publish on the official website of the High Court the proposal for designation of the particularAdvocate as Senior Advocate for inviting suggestions / views of other stakeholders in his / herproposed designation within four weeks of such publication on the website of the High Court orsuch other period as may be prescribed by the Committee ;( ii) Collect data and information of the Advocate(s ) concerned regarding his / her:(a ) Reputation , conduct and integrity ;( b ) Participation in pro -bono work ;Number of reported judgments in which the Advocate (s) concerned appeared for the lastfive years preceding the proposal for designation ; and(d ) Such other information about the Advocate (s ) concerned as may be specifically directedby the Committee ; and( iii ) On receipt of suggestions / views under sub -rule (i) and collection of data and information undersub -rule ( ii ), the Secretariat shall compile a database of the Advocate (s) concerned and put upthe samebefore the Committee[PART IVDELHIGAZETTE : EXTRAORDINARY(9 ) Assessment by the Committee :- The Committee shall examine each proposal for designation of anAdvocate as Senior Advocate in the light of the data compiled by the Secretariat and shall also interview theconcerned Advocate . The Committee shall then make its overall assessment of the concerned Advocate on thebasis of the following point based format:S . No . MatterPointsNumber of years of practice of the Applicant Advocate from the date of 20 pointsenrolment.[10 points for 10 -20 years of practice; 20 points for practice beyond 20years ]Judgments (Reported and unreported ) which indicate the legal 40 pointsformulations advanced by the concerned Advocate in the course of theproceedings of the case ; pro bono work done by the concerned Advocate ;Domain Expertise in Specialized Areas of lawPublications by the Applicant Advocate

15. points

Test of Personality & Suitability on the basis of interview / interaction

25. Points

(10)( 11 )Full Court:

(i)After the overall assessment by the Committee, all the names listed before it will be submitted to

the Full Court along with its Assessment Report . Ordinarily , the Full Court may not resort tovoting by secret ballot, except when unavoidable .In the event of resort to secret ballot, decisions of the Full Court will be carried by a majority ofthe Judges who have chosen to exercise their preference / choice , where at least two - thirds of thetotal strength of the sitting Judges have cast their ballot, irrespective of the Judge casting ballotbeing present or not in the Full Court meeting .(iii ) The Full Court shall not be required to record reasons for its decision ( s).Designation of Advocates as Senior Advocates by the Chief Justice:

(i)On the approval of the name of the Advocate (s ) by the Full Court , the Chief Justice shall

designate such an Advocate as a Senior Advocate under Section 16 ( 2) of the AdvocatesAct, 1961.( ii) The Registrar General shall notify the designation to the Secretary General of the Supreme Courtof India , the Bar Council of Delhi, Bar Council of India and also to all the District and SessionsJudges subordinate to the High Court .( iii ) A record of the proceedings of the Committee and the record received from the Full Court in thisregard shall be maintained by the Secretariat for reference .Review /Reconsideration :

(i)If a proposal for designation as Senior Advocate is not favourably considered by the Full Court,

the Advocate ( s ) concerned would be ineligible for being recommended for designation as aSenior Advocate for a period of two years from the date of such decision and intimation thereofbeing sent to the proposers and the Advocate (s) concerned .( ii ) The decision of the Full Court in respect of the Advocate ( s ) concerned may thereafter bereviewed / reconsidered by following the procedure prescribed above , as if the proposal is beingconsidered afresh .Recall of Designation :( i) In the event a Senior Advocate is guilty of conduct which according to the Full Court disentitlesthe Senior Advocate concerned to continue to be worthy of the designation the Full Court mayreview its decision to designate the concerned person and recall the same.( ii ) The procedure for recall shall be the same as provided under sub - rule (ii ) of Rule 10 .( iii ) The Registrar General shall notify the decision of recall in the same manner as provided for inRule 11 .( 12 )

(13)

10.

DELHI GAZETTE : EXTRAORDINARY

Part IV – ]

( 14 ) Repeal and Saving : The Rules framed by the High Court vide notification No. 529 /Rules/DHC dated

14. .12 . 2012 for designating an Advocate as Senior Advocate are hereby repealed . However, this repeal shall

not, by itself , invalidate the actions taken under the repealed rules / guidelines .ANNEXURE - APROFORMA OF BIO - DATA , CONSENT AND UNDERTAKINGSL No .PARTICULARSName:Father s/Husband s Name:Address with Contact Number and E -Mailaddress :Date of birth :Qualification :No. and date of enrolment as an Advocate andwhere enrolled :Date from which continuously practising andplace where practising :If a former member of the State JudicialService , length of such service and theexperience at the Bar :Fields of specialty in branches of law :Particulars of important matters involvingquestions of law in which appeared in the lastfive years, and particulars of citations ofreported cases during this periodParticulars of cases in which appeared asarguing Counsel on behalf of other Advocates(not being from own chamber / office ) duringthe preceding three years and the names andparticulars of the Advocates on whose behalfappearedParticulars of articles , if any published in anyjournal or publication or books if any authoredWhether associated with any Faculty of Law ofany University / College, if yes provideparticularsParticulars of cases in which appeared pro -bonoand / or free legal aid given (where available,enclose orders )Whether involved in any disciplinaryproceedings before Bar Council of India , BarCouncil of Delhi or Bar Council of any otherstate . If so the particulars /result/stage of theproceedingsWhether personally involved in any contemptproceedingsWhether any remark has ever been passedagainst him /her in any order /judgment by anyCourt of Law

17. .

[PART IVDELHIGAZETTE : EXTRAORDINARY

11.

Any other information which the learnedAdvocate may like to furnish .Whether considered for designation as SeniorAdvocate by the Delhi High Court or any otherHigh Court or Supreme Court at any time andalso within one year prior to the date ofproposal/ consent ( Also state if proposalpending with any Court):Note : Separate sheet can be used for providing answers to the aforesaid questions, if the space in thisproforma is considered insufficient.CONSENTI Advocate , do hereby consent to be designated as a Senior Advocate in terms of Section 16 (2 ) of theAdvocates Act, 1961 and agree and undertake to abide by all laws, rules, regulations, norms and guidelines asare in force for the time being , or which may be prescribed hereafter for this purpose .UNDERTAKINGI undertake that upon designation as Senior Advocate, I shall appear and argue pro -bono cases as assigned tome by any Authority under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 .PLACE :DATE :SIGNATUREBy Order of the CourtSd./DINESH KUMAR SHARMA, Registrar GeneralUploaded by Dte . of Printing at Government of India Press, Ring Road ,Mayapuri, New Delhi- 110064and Published by the Controller of Publications , Delhi- 110054.Digitally signedALOK KUMARMo by ALOK KUMARDate: 2019.03 . 18

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