CJI Remarks on Professional Conduct During Senior Advocate Designation Hearing

Unemployed ‘youngsters like cockroaches’ become media, activists; attack system: CJI

PTI, May 15, 2026, New Delhi : Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Friday made strong observations on professional conduct while hearing a matter related to the conferment of senior advocate designation.

The comments came while a bench of CJI Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was pulling up a lawyer for “pursuing” a senior advocate’s designation. The bench said there were already “parasites” in society who attack the system and asked the petitioner whether he wanted to join hands with them.

“The entire world may be eligible to become senior (advocate), but at least you are not entitled,” the bench told the petitioner lawyer.

A visibly anguished CJI observed that if the Delhi High Court were to confer senior advocate designation upon the petitioner, the apex court would set that aside after examining his professional conduct.

The CJI also referred to the kind of language allegedly used by the petitioner on Facebook.

“There are already parasites of society who attack the system and you want to join hands with them?” he said.

“There are youngsters who do not get any employment or have any place in the profession. Some of them become media persons, some become social media or RTI activists and they start attacking everyone,” he said.

“Is this the conduct of a person who seeks to be designated as a senior advocate?” the bench asked.

It said the senior advocate designation is something that is conferred on a person and is not to be pursued.

“You are pursuing it. Does it look proper?” the top court said, asking whether a senior advocate designation was a status symbol to be kept ornamentally.

The bench also observed that it wanted to ask the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to verify the degrees of many of those wearing black robes, saying there were serious doubts over the genuineness of some degrees.

It further observed that the Bar Council of India would never do anything on the issue as they “need their votes”.

The petitioner apologised to the bench and sought permission to withdraw the petition. The bench allowed the withdrawal of the petition.