Advocates-on-Record

Advocates-on-Record

The Supreme Court conducts the qualifying examination called the “Advocate on Record Examination” every year, which any Advocate can write, provided they fulfill the following eligibility criteria-

• Practicing Advocate for a minimum 4 (four) years;
• Completed a one year training under an Advocate on Record having a minimum 10 years of practice as an Advocate on Record;

Upon successfully clearing the Advocate on Record Examination, it is imperative that the Advocate on Record has a registered office within a radius of 16 km from the Supreme Court Building and also undertakes to have a registered Clerk within one month from the date of registration as an Advocate-on-Record.

Once the above formalities are completed within a stipulated period, the Hon’ble Chamber Judge accepts the newly qualified Advocates as Advocates on Record, and a Certificate is issued in this regard.

As per the extant Rules, the Advocate on Record is the sole authority to file cases before the Supreme Court of India. Their presence and instructions are crucial for any other Advocate to appear for a litigant before the Supreme Court. The Advocate on Record can also engage Senior Advocates to lead them, if the client so instructs, and no Senior Advocate or a Non Advocate on Record can appear in the Supreme Court without engaging an Advocate on Record. This unique categorization makes the Advocates on Record a class in themselves and an integral part of the Justice dispensation system in the Supreme Court.