Senior advocates barred from mentioning cases before CJI’s court

New Delhi: From August 11, senior advocates will no longer be permitted to mention cases for urgent listing or hearing before the court of Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai, the Supreme Court announced in a notice issued on Sunday.

“As directed, designated senior counsels are not permitted to mention any case/s before the court of the Chief Justice of India with effect from Monday, August 11, 2025,” the notice stated.

The decision follows CJI Gavai’s announcement on August 6 that the move was intended to give junior lawyers more opportunities to handle oral mentions of cases. “From Monday, no senior counsel — I mean designated senior counsel — will be allowed to mention matters. Let juniors get an opportunity to do it,” he said, instructing court staff to formalise the directive through a public notice.

CJI Gavai, sworn in on May 14, had already reinstated the system of oral mentions for urgent case listings, reversing the policy of his predecessor, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who required lawyers to submit requests for urgent hearings via email or written letters.

“There is a great demand that no matters should be mentioned by senior counsel(s),” the CJI had remarked on August 6, clarifying that the restriction would apply at least in his court, while other Supreme Court judges could choose whether to adopt the same rule.

In the Supreme Court, lawyers traditionally mention their matters before the CJI-led bench at the start of daily proceedings to seek priority listings or hearings on urgent grounds.

With PTI inputs