In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court of Orissa's suo motu power to designate advocates as Senior Advocates under Rule 6(9) of the Rules, 2019. The Court rejected the High Court's earlier decision to strike down this rule, holding that such suo motu designations do not contradict guidelines established in Indira Jaising-1 and Indira Jaising-2. The Court deleted the 100-point assessment framework as unworkable, directing all High Courts to frame new rules within 4 months emphasizing Full Court consensus, democratic voting, merit-based criteria, and minimum annual designation exercises, while rejecting individual Judge recommendations but permitting applications and suo motu designations for exceptional advocates.
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