The Supreme Court on Friday refused to consider a petition against the senior designation given to 70 lawyers by the Delhi High Court. The petition came up for hearing before a bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and Augustine George Masih.

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to consider a petition against the senior designation given to 70 lawyers by the Delhi High Court. The petition came up for hearing before a bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih. After the bench said that it was not inclined to consider the petition, the petitioner withdrew his application. The petitioner, who approached the court in person, claimed that the process of giving seniority to lawyers in this manner by the High Court is unfair. The petition challenged the notification of November 29 last year, under which the High Court designated 70 lawyers as senior advocates.

Hearing a separate petition against the grant of senior designation to lawyers by the high court on January 2, the Supreme Court had objected to the “defamatory and baseless allegations” made against the judges in the petition.

Referring to the statements made in the petition, the apex court said that allegations have been made against the judges in it.

The petition alleged that classifying lawyers into two categories and providing “benefits and privileges” to some of them was against the concept of equality and the basic principles of the Constitution.

It said, "This petition challenges Sections 16 and 23(5) of the Advocates Act, which create two classes of senior advocates and other advocates, resulting in unimaginable disruptions and inequalities in actual practice, which Parliament would certainly not have contemplated or anticipated."