Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has issued notice on a petition challenging the Full Court’s decision dated November 5, 2025, by which 90 advocates were designated as Senior Advocates. A Division Bench comprising Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Rajeev Bharti directed the petitioner, Advocate Anupam Mehrotra, to implead all 90 designated advocates as respondents and serve notice upon them by e-mail. The Bench further directed the Registrar General and other respondents to file their counter-affidavits within four weeks, with rejoinder affidavits to be filed within two weeks thereafter. The matter is next listed for hearing on January 28, 2026.
The petition contends that the designation exercise was conducted in violation of the guidelines laid down in Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India (2017) and the precedent in Jitender v. State (NCT of Delhi). According to the plea, the Permanent Committee for Senior Designations evaluated applications within a compressed timeframe between September 30 and October 4, 2025, granting only minimal time per candidate. The petition asserts that, under such conditions, the process could not amount to a fair, reasonable, or meaningful assessment of merit.
Further, the petition alleges that for a significant number of designated advocates, there were fewer than ten reported judgments in the preceding five years, and that for about 27 of them, there were no reported cases at all. It is also alleged that the Committee unduly emphasised income as a criterion, a factor previously held to be irrelevant under the jurisprudence governing senior designations. The petitioner further claims that despite being recommended by a sitting judge, his own application was rejected without recording any reasons or disclosing whether the recommending judge was consulted. The petition characterises the exercise as having “prioritised wealth over merit, knowledge, and experience.”
The High Court’s notification of 90 new Senior Advocates (including five women) came after a gap of nearly three years since the last round of designations. With the latest round, the total number of Senior Advocates at the Allahabad High Court, including both the Allahabad and Lucknow Benches, reportedly exceeds 230.
By issuing notice to all 90 designated advocates, the Court has opened the door for a detailed adjudication into the validity and fairness of the designation process adopted in the November 2025 exercise.
Case Details:
Bench: Hon’ble Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Hon’ble Justice Rajeev Bharti
Date of Notice: December 10, 2025
Next Hearing: January 28, 2026
Petitioner: Anupam Mehrotra (in person)
Respondents: The 90 designated Senior Advocates; Registrar General, Allahabad High Court; and other relevant administrative authorities
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