REGISTERED NO. PT.-40
EXTRA ORDINARY
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY
24 ASVINA 1945(S)
(NO.PATNA 841) PATNA, MONDAY, 16TH OCTOBER 2023
PATNA HIGH COURT
———
NOTIFICATION
16th October 2023
ADDENDA AND CORRIGENDA TO
THE RULES OF THE HIGH COURT AT PATNA, 1916
(Fifth Edition)
C.S. No. – 177
No. 598 (R)/Rules Department --In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1)
of Section 34 read with sub-section (2) of Section 16 of the Advocates Act, 1961 (Act No. 25 of
1961), and in the light of the minutes dated 17.03.2021 of Hon’ble Permanent Committee that
“paragraph 35 of the judgment dated 12.10.2017 shall be considered as part of the Rules of the
High Court of Judicature at Patna (Designation of Senior Advocates) Rules 2019” as well as in
light of judgment dated 12.05.2023 passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court in M.A. Nos.709/2022,
1502/2020; IA Nos.58694/2022, 74393/2020, 75687/2021 in Writ Petition (C) No.454 of 2015
(Ms. Indira Jaising Vs Supreme Court of India, through Secretary General), the High Court of
Judicature at Patna hereby makes the following amendments in “the High Court of Judicature at
Patna (Designation of Senior Advocates) Rules, 2019” (Chapter XXIV-A of the Rules of the
High Court at Patna, 1916) :-
[A] By making insertion in the existing Rule 11 of the point-based format as
prescribed in Paragraph 35 (VII) of the judgment dated 12.10.2017 passed in Writ
Petition (Civil) No.454 of 2015 (Ms. Indira Jaising Versus Supreme Court of
India, through Secretary General) with its modifications as ordered in the
judgment dated 12.05.2023 passed in M.A. Nos.709/2022, 1502/2020; IA
Nos.58694/2022, 74393/2020, 75687/2021 in Writ Petition (C) No.454 of 2015 by
2
BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2023
Hon’ble Supreme Court, by way of bifurcating Rule 11 in two parts i.e. (a)
and (b).
(i)
Part (a) shall comprise the Rules from beginning till the word ‘assessment’,
thereafter the following words and Chart depicting the point-based format
shall be added:
“on the basis of a point-based format indicated below:
Sl. No.
Matter
Points
1.
Number of years of practice of the applicant advocate from the date of
enrollment.
[ 1 point for every year of practice between 10-20 years of practice; 20 points
for practice beyond 20 years]
20 points
2.
Judgments (reported and unreported) which indicate the legal formulations
advanced by the concerned advocate in the course of the proceedings of the
case; pro bono work done by the advocate concerned; domain expertise of the
applicant advocate in various branches of law, such as Constitutional law,
Inter-State water Disputes, Criminal law, Arbitration law, Corporate law,
Family law, Human Rights, Public Interest Litigation, International law, law
relating to women, etc.
50
points
3.
Publications by the applicant advocate
5 points
4.
Test of personality and suitability on the basis of interview/ interaction
25 points
(ii) The rest part of Rule 11 shall comprise under Part (b) after replacing the
word ‘and’ (which is just after the word ‘assessment’) with the words ‘After
making overall assessment, the Committee shall’.
[B] In 5th line of Rule 12, just after the words ‘such secret ballot,’ the words ‘the
reason for the same shall be recorded and’ shall be inserted.
Rules 11 & 12 in existence
Rules 11 and 12 after Proposed
amendments
11. The Committee shall examine each
proposal/ recommendation/ application for
designation as Senior Advocate in the light of
the materials on record including the materials
provided
by
the
Secretariat
and
the
suggestions/ views of the members of the Bar
and other stakeholders. The Committee shall
after holding interview/ interaction with the
Advocate
concerned,
make
an
overall
assessment
and
place
the
proposals/
recommendations/
applications
for
designation, before the Full Court for
consideration,
along
with
its
recommendations.
11.(a) The Committee shall examine each
proposal/ recommendation/ application for
designation as Senior Advocate in the light of
the materials on record including the materials
provided
by
the
Secretariat
and
the
suggestions/ views of the members of the Bar
and other stakeholders. The Committee shall
after holding interview/ interaction with the
Advocate
concerned,
make
an
overall
assessment on the basis of a point-based
format indicated below:
Sl.
No.
Matter
Points
1. Number of years of practice of
the applicant advocate from
the date of enrollment.
[ 1 point for every year of
practice between 10-20 years
of practice; 20 points for
practice beyond 20 years]
20
points
3
BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2023
2. Judgments
(reported
and
unreported) which indicate the
legal formulations advanced by
the concerned advocate in the
course of the proceedings of
the case; pro bono work done
by the advocate concerned;
domain
expertise
of
the
applicant advocate in various
branches of law, such as
Constitutional law, Inter-State
water Disputes, Criminal law,
Arbitration
law,
Corporate
law,
Family
law,
Human
Rights,
Public
Interest
Litigation, International law,
law relating to women, etc.
50
points
3.
Publications by the applicant
advocate
5 points
4.
Test
of
personality
and
suitability on the basis of
interview/ interaction
25
points
(b) After making overall assessment, the
Committee
shall] place the proposals/
recommendations/
applications
for
designation, before the Full Court for
consideration,
along
with
its
recommendations.”
12. A proposal/recommendation/application
for designation as a Senior Advocate shall be
considered as accepted by the Full Court if
majority of the Judges present and voting, vote
in favour of such proposal/ recommendation/
application. Voting by secret ballot will be
resorted to, only if the situation so warrants
and even in case of holding of such secret
ballot,
the
proposal/
recommendation/
application for designation as a Senior
Advocate shall be considered as accepted, 5[if
the Judges present and voting by not less than
two-third majority], vote in favour of the
proposal/ recommendation/ application.
12. A proposal/recommendation/application for
designation as a Senior Advocate shall be
considered as accepted by the Full Court if
majority of the Judges present and voting, vote in
favour
of
such
proposal/
recommendation/
application. Voting by secret ballot will be
resorted to, only if the situation so warrants and
even in case of holding of such secret ballot, the
reason for the same shall be recorded and the
proposal/
recommendation/application
for
designation as a Senior Advocate shall be
considered as accepted, [if the Judges present and
voting by not less than two-third majority], vote in
favour
of
the
proposal/
recommendation/
application.
By order of the Court
Dated 16th October, 2023.
Adm. (Rules) Department
RUDRA PRAKASH MISHRA,
Registrar General.
4
BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2023
(AFTER AMENDMENT)
The Chapter XXIV-A of the Rules of the High Court at
Patna, 1916 titled “Rules framed by the High Court of Judicature
at Patna in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 15(2)
[sic 16(2)] of the Advocates Act, 1961” is hereby repealed and
substituted by the following Rules with immediate effect:-
In exercise of the powers conferred by Sections 16(2) and 34(1)
of the Advocates Act, 1961 (Central Act 25 of 1961), the High Court
of Judicature at Patna hereby makes the following Rules regarding
designation of an Advocate as a Senior Advocate:-
RULES
1.
(a) These Rules shall be called "The High Court
of Judicature at Patna (Designation of Senior Advocates)
Rules, 2019."
(b) These Rules shall come into force at once.
(c) The term “High Court” wherever appears shall mean
the High Court of Judicature at Patna.
2. The High Court may designate an Advocate as a Senior
Advocate, if in its opinion, by virtue of his/her ability,
standing at the Bar, or special knowledge or
experience
in
law,
the
said
Advocate
deserves
conferment of such distinction.
3.
An Advocate may be considered for being designated as a
Senior Advocate:
(a) On his/her name being proposed by the Chief Justice
or any other Judge of the High Court of Judicature at
Patna;
(b) On his/her name being recommended by any two
designated Senior Advocates practising in the High
Court 1[and not more than two such names shall be
recommended by a designated Senior Advocate in
selection process.]
(c) On application made by the Advocate concerned,
endorsed by two designated Senior Advocates
practising in the High Court 2 [and these two
designated Senior Advocates shall not recommend
more than two applications in a selection process.]
4. An advocate shall be considered for being designated as a
1 Inserted by C.S. No. 168
2 Inserted by C.S. No. 168
5
BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2023
Senior Advocate only if he/she has actually practised as an
Advocate for not less than ten years in the High Court.
5.
The Advocate whose name is proposed/recommended
for being designated as a Senior Advocate/who applies for
being designated as a Senior Advocate, should be an
income-tax assessee for a minimum period of ten (10)
years and shall submit copies of income tax return for the
last three financial years 3[and the average net income
from profession shall not be less than Rs. 4[5 lakhs (five
lakhs)] for the said three years.]
6. (a) Proposals for designation of an Advocate as a Senior
Advocate by a Judge of the High Court of Judicature at
Patna
shall
be
addressed
to
the
Chief
Justice.
Recommendations by Senior Advocates and applications
by Advocates shall be addressed to the Registrar General
and shall contain the particulars set out in the proforma in
Annexure A to these rules, which shall be enclosed with
the application.
(b)
The written consent of the Advocate concerned
shall accompany the proposal/recommendation for
designation as a Senior Advocate along with a
declaration
by the Advocate concerned that no
proposal/
recommendation/
application
to
designate him/her as a Senior Advocate has been
rejected by the Supreme Court of India or the High
Court of Judicature at Patna and/or any other High
Court in India, within a period of two years
immediately preceding the date of the proposal/
recommendation/ application.
(c)
If the proposal for designation of an Advocate as a
Senior Advocate is made under Clause (a) of Rule
3 above, the particulars mentioned in Rule 6(a)
shall be obtained from the Advocate concerned,
by the Secretariat mentioned in Rule 7(b) of these
Rules. In the case of recommendations made
under clause (b) and applications filed under clause
(c) of Rule 3 above, the particulars mentioned in
3 Inserted by C.S. No. 168
4 Amended by C.S. No. 169
6
BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2023
Rule 6(a) shall be supplied by the Advocate
concerned.
(d)
Canvassing in any form shall disqualify the Advocate
concerned from being designated.
7.(a)
The
proposal/recommendation/application
for
designation as a Senior Advocate shall be
processed by a Permanent Committee of the High
Court known as the "Committee for Designation
of Senior Advocates" (hereinafter referred to as
"the Committee" for short). The Permanent
Committee will be headed by the Hon’ble the Chief
Justice and consist of two senior-most Hon’ble
Judges of this Court and the Learned Advocate
General who will be the Members of this
Permanent Committee. The above four Hon’ble
Members of the Permanent Committee will
nominate a Member of the Bar to be the fifth
Member of the Permanent Committee.
(b)
The Secretariat of the Registrar General of the
High Court shall be the Secretariat of "the
Committee" and the Registrar General of the
High Court shall be the ex-officio Secretary of "the
Committee".
(c)
The Committee shall meet at least once in every
calendar year.
8. The Secretariat of "the Committee" shall as
soon as proposals/recommendations/applications for
designation are received, cause a summary of the
proposals/recommendations/applications for designation
to be published on the official website of the High
Court of Judicature at Patna and invite suggestions/views
of the members of the Bar and other stakeholders in
the matter, within 30 days from the date of publication.
The suggestions/views shall be in writing, shall bear the
name and full address of the sender and shall be
addressed to the Registrar General of this High Court.
Anonymous
petitions/representations
will
not
be
entertained.
9. All
proposals/
recommendations/
applications
for
designation as Senior Advocates shall be scrutinised by
7
BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2023
the Secretariat of "the Committee", which shall collect
relevant data and information with regard to the
reputation, conduct and integrity of the Advocate
concerned;
verify
the
details
regarding
his/her
participation in pro bono work (Legal Services Authority), if
any; reported judgments in which he/she has appeared;
the number of such judgments reported during the last
five years and other matters referred to in the particulars
furnished in terms of Rule 6(a) and submit a report to
"the
Committee"
regarding
every
proposal/
recommendation/application
submitted
for
seeking
designation.
10. The Secretariat of "the Committee" shall place the
proposals/ recommendations/applications for designation
before "the Committee" after the expiry of the period of 30
days
from
the
date
of
publication
of
the
proposals/recommendations/applications for designation
on the official website of the High Court of Judicature at
Patna.
11. (a) The Committee shall examine each proposal/
recommendation/application for designation as Senior
Advocate in the light of the materials on record including
the materials provided by the Secretariat and the
suggestions/ views of the members of the Bar and other
stakeholders.
The
Committee
shall
after
holding
interview/interaction with the Advocate concerned, make
an overall assessment on the basis of a point-based format
indicated below:-
Sl. No.
Matter
Points
1.
Number of years of practice of the applicant advocate from the
date of enrollment.
[ 1 point for every year of practice between 10-20 years of
practice; 20 points for practice beyond 20 years]
20 points
2.
Judgments (reported and unreported) which indicate the legal
formulations advanced by the concerned advocate in the
course of the proceedings of the case; pro bono work done by
the advocate concerned; domain expertise of the applicant
advocate in various branches of law, such as Constitutional
law, Inter-State water Disputes, Criminal law, Arbitration law,
Corporate law, Family law, Human Rights, Public Interest
Litigation, International law, law relating to women, etc.
50 points
8
BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2023
3.
Publications by the applicant advocate
5 points
4.
Test of personality and suitability on the basis of interview/
interaction
25 points
(b) After making overall assessment, the Committee shall
place the proposals/ recommendations/ applications for
designation, before the Full Court for consideration,
along with its recommendations.”
12.
A proposal/recommendation/application for designation
as a Senior Advocate shall be considered as accepted by
the Full Court if majority of the Judges present and
voting,
vote
in
favour
of
such
proposal/
recommendation/ application. Voting by secret ballot
will be resorted to, only if the situation so warrants and
even in case of holding of such secret ballot, the reason
for the same shall be recorded and the proposal/
recommendation/application for designation as a Senior
Advocate shall be considered as accepted, [if the Judges
present and voting by not less than two-third majority],
vote in favour of the proposal/ recommendation/
application.
13. A proposal/recommendation/application for designation
which is not accepted by the Full Court can be
considered afresh only after the expiry of a period of
two years from the date on which the proposal/
recommendation/ application was not accepted by the
Full Court and that too, only on receipt of a fresh
proposal/ recommendation/ application for such
designation.
14.(a) The designation of an Advocate as a Senior Advocate
shall be liable to be revoked, after due notice to
him/her, in the event of the Advocate being found by
the Bar Council of India/Bihar State Bar Council /Bar
Council of any other State that he/she has committed
professional/other misconduct or if the High Court is
satisfied that he/she has violated all or any of the
provisions of the Rules framed and issued by the High
Court of Judicature at Patna under sub-section (1) of
Section 34 of the Advocates Act, 1961. The designation
shall also be liable to be revoked after due notice to the
Senior Advocate concerned if he/she is guilty of any
9
BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2023
misconduct which, in the opinion of the High Court,
disentitles him/her to continue to be worthy of the
designation or if he/she is convicted for an offence
involving moral turpitude or for contempt of court. The
proposal for revocation of designation shall be
considered as accepted by the Full Court if two-third of
the Judges present and voting, vote in favour of such
revocation.
(b) Nothing contained in these rules shall stand in the
way of an Advocate who has been designated by the
High Court of Judicature at Patna as a Senior Advocate,
from submitting an application to withdraw or
recall his/her designation as a Senior Advocate. In
the event of such an application addressed to the
Registrar General being submitted, the Registrar
General shall place it before the Chief Justice for
appropriate orders thereon.
15.
On the designation of an Advocate as a Senior Advocate
or on the revocation or withdrawal of such designation,
the Registrar General shall notify the said fact to the
Registrar General, Supreme Court of India, the Bihar
State Bar Council , the Bar Council of India, the Bar
Council of other States in India and to all the District
and Sessions Judges subordinate to the High Court of
Judicature at Patna. The notification shall also be
published on the official website of the High Court and a
copy there of communicated to the Judges of the High
Court.
16.
A record of all decisions relating to designation/
revocation/
withdrawal
of
designation
shall
be
maintained by the Secretariat of the Committee.
17.
On the date of coming into force of these Rules, the
Rules framed and issued by the High Court of Judicature
at Patna under Section 16(2) of the Advocates Act, 1961,
and appearing in Chapter XXIV of the Rules of the High
Court of Judicature at Patna shall stand repealed and
substituted.
18.
All pending applications for designation shall be
returned to the applicants concerned for applying afresh
in
accordance
with
these
Rules.
All
pending
proposals/recommendations for designation shall also
be likewise returned.
---------
10
BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2023
ANNEXURE A
PROFORMA
1. Name
2. Qualifications
3. Date of birth
4. Permanent Address
5. Address to which communications are to be sent.
6. Date of enrolment as Advocate
and place of enrolment
7. Number in the roll of Advocates
maintained by the State Bar Council.
8. Are you a member of any Association of Lawyers?
If so, give details.
9. Number of years of practice and in which Court?
10. Have you specialised in any field of law?
If so, give details.
11. Have you been a chamber junior to any lawyer?
If so, furnish the name of such
lawyer/lawyers and the duration.
12. Is any junior Lawyer attached to your chamber?
If so, furnish the name(s) of such lawyer(s)
and the duration.
13. (i) Since when have you been an
assessee under the Income Tax Act,
1961? Give income tax return of last
three financial years.
(ii) Permanent Account Number (PAN)-
14. Are you in any panel of lawyers or do
you hold office as State or Central
Government Pleader?
15. List of important cases in which
you have appeared as counsel.
16. Do you have to your credit any publication in any
Affix recent
passport
size photo
11
BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2023
Journal? If so, give details.
17. Have you attended any seminar/
conference relating to law?
18. Have you been a faculty member
of any Law College or Law
Department of any University
or Law University')
19. Has the Bar Council of India/ Bihar Bar
Council / Bar Council of any other State
found you guilty of misconduct or is any
such proceeding for misconduct
pending? If so, give details.
20. Have you been convicted for an offence
involving moral turpitude/is any such
proceeding pending against you'! If so,
give details.
21. Has any proposal/application for
designating you as a Senior Advocate been
made to the High Court of Judicature at
Patna or any other Court earlier? If so,
provide the details.
22. Are you ordinarily practising within the territorial
limits of the jurisdiction of the High Court of
Judicature at Patna?
23. Other information/particulars, if any,
including legal aid work.
12
BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2023
Explanatory Note
(This does not form part of the notification, but is intended to indicate
its general purport.)
The Honourable Supreme Court in its judgment dated 12.10.2017
passed in W.P.(C) No. 454/2015 entitled Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court
of India through Secretary General and others (AIR 2017 SC 5017), laid
down norms/guidelines for designation of an Advocate as a Senior
Advocate.
The High Court after considering the matter in detail decided to issue
separate rules providing guidelines for designation of an Advocate
as a Senior Advocate.
This notification is intended to achieve the above object.
By Order of the Court,
RUDRA PRAKASH MISHRA,
Registrar General.
———
PUBLISHED AND PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT,
BIHAR SECRETARIAT PRESS, PATNA,
BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 841—571+500
Website:http://egazette.bih.nic.in
