On Wednesday, the Supreme Court agreed to postpone its decision on a mandate that requires only lawyers who are physically present in court or attending online during hearings to mark their appearances in court orders or the record of proceedings.

Senior Counsel and Supreme Court Bar Association President Kapil Sibal raised the issue before a Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Rajesh Bindal today, requesting additional time to address and resolve the matter. Consequently, the Court agreed to postpone its order issued on August 29.

The matter will be next heard on September 11.

The order in question, issued during a hearing on August 29 regarding a batch of part-heard contempt petitions, directed that only lawyers physically present in court or attending online during hearings are permitted to mark their appearance in the court records, orders, or judgments.

During that hearing, the Court observed that a lawyer who was not in town was mistakenly listed as having appeared for the proceedings. This lawyer's name had been submitted through the Advocate Appearance Portal, an online system launched in December 2022, which requires Advocates-On-Record (AoRs) to submit the names of lawyers appearing in a matter each morning.

However, during the hearing on August 29, the Bench was informed that the lawyer in question was neither physically present in the courtroom nor participating via video conference. The Bench also noted that other lawyers' names had been submitted for marking their appearance despite their absence from court. The Court expressed concern that the Advocate Appearance Portal, intended solely for recording the presence of lawyers actively participating in or assisting with the arguments, was being misused.

"It would not mean that the advocate, who is neither present personally nor online, may be allowed to mark his presence by furnishing online information," the Court said in its August 29 order.

The Court further emphasized that even lawyers affiliated with the office of the arguing counsel, who are not physically present in the courtroom or attending via video conference, should not mark their appearance.

"We forthwith direct that in this Court, online presence of only those advocates be furnished and be marked who are appearing or assisting during hearing ... and not of those who are not present in Court but may be associated in office of the advocates," the Court ordered.

The SCBA and the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) were requested to ensure compliance with the directive. Kapil Sibal then chose to address the matter today, seeking a deferral of the order.