The Supreme Court, currently on its summer break, has made it clear that senior counsels will not be permitted to mention or argue cases before the vacation bench. Several incidents occurred today where senior advocates were asked to allow instructing counsel or advocates-on-record (AoRs) to argue and mention matters.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi appeared before a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah for mentioning a matter. However, upon seeing Singhvi, the bench informed him that they would not hear a senior counsel and asked him to instruct his AoR to make the mention instead.
A similar situation arose when Senior Advocate Anjana Prakash appeared before the bench. Justice Nath questioned her presence during the vacation and stated that they would not hear her, but would hear the counsel next to her.
Senior Advocate Siddarth Dave attempted to highlight that other vacation benches did not enforce such a rule. However, Justice Nath reiterated that senior counsels would not be allowed during the vacation, specifically in his court. In a plea challenging the grant of anticipatory bail to Member of Parliament YS Avinash Reddy, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra stepped aside to allow petitioner Suneetha Narreddy to argue in person.
Luthra mentioned a few points against the bail order, but Justice Nath expressed concerns about discrimination, cautioning Luthra that his presence as a senior counsel could create such an impression.
The Supreme Court has emphasized transparency in its decision to limit the participation of senior counsels during the vacation period. This move aims to provide an opportunity for instructing counsel and AoRs to gain experience and handle matters before the court.
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