Supreme Court: Judges and Advocates

Judges

1. Acting Chief Judge
   • The President can appoint an acting Chief Justice of India when:
     • The office of CJI becomes vacant
     • CJI is temporarily absent
     • CJI is unable to perform the duties of his office
2. Ad Hoc Judge
   • Ad hoc judges are those appointed for a specific case, project, or time period only and are distinguished from standard judges, who are chosen by a conventional process for a specific time.
3. Retired Judge
   • CJI can request a retired judge of the SC or retired judge of the HC to act as a judge of the SC for a temporary period
   • He can take this step after getting consent from the President of India and also of the person to be so appointed
   • The appointed person in this case will receive such salary and allowances as determined by the President of India

Advocates

1. Senior Advocates
   • Under Section 16 of the Advocates Act 1961 two classes of advocates are classified; Senior Advocate and Junior or those who are not designated as seniors.
   • The Senior advocates play the role of legal experts in India who have significant knowledge in the field of law.
   • They are associated with many prominent cases as they are good contributors to the principle of Rule of Law.
   • Special Provisions:
     • A senior advocate shall not appear without an advocate on record in the SC or without an advocate in any other court.
     • A senior advocate shall not accept instructions to draft pleadings or affidavits, advice on evidence, or to do any drafting work of an analogous kind in any Court or Tribunal or before any person or other authority.
     • A senior advocate shall not accept directly from a client any brief or instructions to appear in any Court or Tribunal or before any person or other authority in India.
2. Advocates-on-Record
   • The concept of AoR was introduced by the SC with the power given to it under Article 145(1) of the Indian Constitution, which states that the SC may, from time to time, make rules for regulating the practices and procedures in the court.
   • “Advocate on record” is a title given to an advocate who can represent a cause or pleading before the SC.
   • Only these advocates are entitled to file any matter or document before the SC. They can also file an appearance or act for a party in the SC. 
   • No other High Court in India has a similar provision.
   • Order IV Rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 lays down the requirements to be fulfilled to become an AoR. They are as follows:
     • The Advocate is required to be enrolled with any State Bar Council.
     • The Advocate is required to have a prior experience of at least 4 years.
     • The Advocate has undergone a training of 1 year under a senior AoR.
     • The Advocate has appeared for the examination conducted by the SC.
     • The Advocate is required to have an office in Delhi within a radius of 10 miles from the SC house and give an undertaking to employ a clerk, who shall be a registered clerk, within one month of being registered as an advocate on record.
   • Once registered, an AOR is issued a unique identification number that must be used on all documents filed in the SC.