Above: Supreme Court. Photo: Anil Shakya

Senior lawyers will no longer get the privilege over junior lawyers in Supreme Court as far as seeking an out-of-turn listing and hearing of their cases is concerned. A bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra ruled on Wednesday (September 20) that only Advocates-on-Record will have the privilege to “mention” cases for out-of-turn listing and hearing.

The bench was not happy with the way things panned out at the time of “mentioning” petitions on Tuesday (September 19). A junior lawyer took objection to the age-old practice of senior lawyers getting precedence over their junior counterparts in mentioning petitions before the CJI for urgent hearing as they do not have to stand in queue. He pleaded before the CJI that he could not mention his petition despite standing in the queue for half an hour. He also pointed out that senior advocates are able to mention more than one petitions due to the advantage they get. Thereafter the Court also witnessed an unpleasant scenario over the issue.

—India Legal Bureau