The Supreme Court recently expressed its strong disapproval when a junior counsel, appearing unprepared, sought an adjournment. In a decisive response, the court imposed a penalty on the Advocate-on-Record (AoR) responsible for dispatching the unprepared junior, emphasizing the profound implications of such negligence on the court’s operations and the professional progression of junior counsels.
During a standard hearing overseen by CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice Manoj Misra, the junior counsel requested an adjournment. When prompted to initiate his arguments, the junior counsel confessed his lack of knowledge about the case. CJI DY Chandrachud responded,
“we are under instructions to hear the case from the Constitution.”
He further emphasized the court’s operational costs, stating,
“There are infrastructural costs involved. Start arguing.”
Justice Narasimha, taken aback by the counsel’s unpreparedness, remarked,
“You can’t come before the Supreme Court without even taking a briefing.”
The situation intensified when the CJI, visibly perturbed by the counsel’s lack of preparation, summoned the Advocate-on-Record, stating,
“You cannot take this court for granted. Please call the advocate on record…ask him to appear before us.”
Upon his appearance, the AoR extended an apology for the oversight. However, the CJI expressed his dissatisfaction, questioning the logic behind sending an unprepared junior counsel. He critically inquired,
“Why would you send a junior without any scrap of paper? You send unprepared juniors so that the court has to do all the hard work…Is this the way you train juniors in the bar? Send them without any papers?”
Despite the AoR’s apologies, the CJI mandated a payment of INR 2000 to the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) as a penalty, requiring a receipt as proof. Concluding the session, CJI DY Chandrachud stressed,
“A junior was sent unprepared without any papers… Matters cannot be conducted in this manner. This is doing disservice both to court and to the junior who is made to appear without any papers. Advocate on Record shall deposit costs to SCBA and produce receipt of the same.”
