Apex court rules on advocates-on-record questioned before HC

The Supreme Court registry has been asked by the Delhi High Court to explain why its rule allowing only its Advocates-On-Record (AOR) to file petitions before it should not be scrapped. A bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw sought the apex court's response through its registry to a plea by a city advocate challenging the Supreme Court rules on the ground that it violated the fundamental rights of other lawyers having the same qualification. The high court bench sought the reply by December 9, issuing the notice on the plea by advocate Balraj Singh Mali, who argued that large number of advocates are suffering professionally because of this rule giving the privilege of filing petitions in the apex court only to its advocates-on-record. The bench also issued notices to the Attorney General of India, the Solicitor General, the Supreme Court Bar Association as well as the Advocate-on-Record Association, seeking their replies on the issue. Challenging the Supreme Court Rules of 1966 which allows only the AOR to file petitions before the apex court, Malik pointed out that "other advocates are equally skilled in filing cases according to requirements of different formats in different courts and there is no speciality in the Supreme Court practice other than high courts." (PTI)