Former Supreme Court Justice L Nageswara Rao has been made an Honorary Bencher of Inner Temple, one of London's four historic Inns of Court.

Justice Rao, who recently attended his first Bencher's Night, said,

”It is a great honour to be a Honorary Bencher in the Inner Temple. Looking forward to contributing to academic activity at the Inner Temple.”

He is also a door tenant of 39 Essex Chambers, London.

Honorary Benchers are distinguished judges, advocates and statesmen, legal figures from outside the Inn. They are elected by the existing Benchers in recognition of outstanding service to the legal profession.

Mahatma Gandhi was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1891, before returning to India. Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, was also a member, as was Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, the fifth President of India and Siddhartha Shankar Ray - lawyer, Chief Minister of Bengal, Governor of Punjab and Indian Ambassador to the United States.

Justice Rao is not the first Indian judge to receive recognition from the Inn in recent years. In 2023, Justice Prateek Jalan of the Delhi High Court was elected a Bencher of the Inner Temple.

Justice Rao was elevated to the Supreme Court of India in 2016 and served a term of 6 years.

Prior to his elevation, Justice Rao was designated as a Senior Advocate in 2000 and had a career spanning over three decades, during which he appeared regularly in various high profile cases across different courts in India in a spectrum of commercial, civil, criminal and constitutional matters.

At present, Justice Rao is an arbitrator in international and domestic arbitration involving construction, oil and gas, energy, corporate disputes, media and entertainment, insurance, automotive and real estate matters.