Supreme Court’s much-awaited senior advocate list likely in coming weeks

New Delhi: The much-awaited list of advocates to be designated as Senior Advocates by the Supreme Court is expected to be released in the coming weeks, with lawyers familiar with the process expecting the exercise to be completed before Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant demits office on 9 February 2027.

As many as 357 advocates are in the fray for the designation, making the current exercise significantly larger than the previous round in which 39 advocates were designated Senior Advocates in August 2024.

 The present exercise is the first major designation process under the Supreme Court’s Guidelines for Designation of Senior Advocates, 2026.

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The Supreme Court had initially received 293 applications by 9 March 2026, the original deadline for applications. Following requests from advocates, the deadline was subsequently extended to 2 April resulting in 64 additional applications and taking the total number of applicants to 357.

The names of the applicants were published by the Supreme Court as part of the process for inviting views and suggestions from stakeholders. The exercise is being conducted under the new guidelines approved by the Full Court in February 2026.

The Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates comprises the Chief Justice of India and the two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. The committee is headed by CJI Surya Kant and includes Justice Vikram Nath and Justice B.V. Nagarathna. The committee undertakes the scrutiny and assessment process before placing the matter before the Full Court. The final decision on designation is taken by the Full Court and not by the three-member committee alone.