The Supreme Court has raised concerns over the Delhi High Court’s recent decision to confer senior designation on 70 lawyers, suggesting that eligible candidates may have been rejected ¹. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan has asked the High Court Registrar General to seek instructions on whether the court is willing to reconsider the cases of eligible candidates who were not designated.
The controversy surrounding the senior designation process began when Senior Advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, a member of the permanent committee responsible for shortlisting candidates, resigned over claims that the final list was prepared without his consent ² ³. The permanent committee had interviewed 302 lawyers, but Nandrajog alleged that the original list was tampered with and that he did not sign the final list due to being busy with an arbitration.
The Supreme Court has sought a response from the High Court and directed that copies of Nandrajog’s affidavit be shared with the counsel representing the High Court’s Registrar. The matter is listed for hearing next on April 4.
