The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a petition challenging the Senior Advocate designations conferred by the Delhi High Court on 70 lawyers.

A Bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih allowed the petitioner to withdraw the plea after rejecting its consideration.

The petition had alleged that the list of 70 senior designations included names of advocates associated with sitting High Court judges.

On November 29, 2024, the Delhi High Court’s Full Court conferred Senior Advocate status on 70 lawyers after interviewing 302 candidates. However, the decision sparked controversy when a member of the Permanent Committee resigned, claiming the final list was prepared without his approval.

The Permanent Committee, which includes Chief Justice Manmohan, Justice Vibhu Bakhru, Justice Yashwant Varma, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, and Senior Advocates Mohit Mathur and Sudhir Nandrajog, faced internal dissent.

As per the sources, Nandrajog, a Delhi government representative, did not sign the final list that was circulated to the full court for approval due to his engagement in arbitration proceedings. It was further alleged that the list presented was altered from the original version, leading to claims of tampering.