Verify claims that lawyers appointed to represent govt in Supreme Court are yet to clear AIBE: Delhi High Court to Centre

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted the Central government eight weeks to examine allegations that some of the 650 lawyers empanelled to represent it before the Supreme Court have not cleared the All India Bar Examination (AIBE), a requirement to practice law in India..A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia also asked the government to frame a policy for the empanelment of lawyers to represent the Union of India before different forums, as directed in an earlier case last year. "We direct that the grievances raised by the petition in respect of individuals empanelled shall be considered and a decision be taken within eight weeks from today," the Court ordered. .The Bench passed the order while dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an organisation named First Generation Lawyers Association. The plea stated that the list of empanelled lawyers issued by the Ministry of Law & Justice on November 21, 2025 raised “serious concerns” within the legal community over alleged irregularities, lack of transparency and inclusion of newly enrolled advocates.According to the petition, several individuals named in the panel were enrolled with State Bar Councils only in 2024 or even 2025, with some yet to clear the AIBE.The Association argued that appointing such inexperienced lawyers to represent the Union of India in the Supreme Court, especially in matters involving constitutional interpretation and national policy, violates constitutional mandates of fairness, equality of opportunity and accountability under Article 14..Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma appeared for the Central government today and stated that the petitioner organisation and its President, Advocate Rudra Vikram Singh, had used the PIL for campaigning in the upcoming Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) elections.Sharma further stated that Singh and the petitioner organisation were posting on social media regarding the court proceedings. He claimed that in one instance, they shared the Court's virtual conference link, asking people to join the proceedings."There is something sinister," the ASG said.Singh appeared for the petitioner organisation and stated that they have been working to safeguard the interest of the lawyers and that while he is contemplating contesting the elections, he has no intention to use the PIL as campaign material.After hearing the case, the Bench observed that posting the Court's VC link is a violation of the Delhi High Court Electronic Evidence and Video Conferencing Rules, 2025. It recorded Singh's statement that he will delete all social media posts sharing VC links and that the institution of the PIL will not be used as campaign material..Along with Singh, Advocates Ashirvad Kumar Yadav, Neetu Rani, Rashmi Mehta and Anirudh Tyagi appeared for the petitioner association.Central Government Standing Counsel Radhika Dubey also appeared for the Union of India..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.