Whether SG, ASG or junior counsel, our order will be the same: Supreme Court rejects ASG's adjournment request

The Supreme Court on Saturday dismissed a plea after declining to adjourn the matter merely because the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) appearing in the case was held up in another courtroom.

A Bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva made it clear that the seniority or designation of the advocate appearing made no difference to how the Court would decide a case.

“Whether ASG, SG, our order will be the same. It does not differ based on the advocates who appear before us. Please tell your ASG that. If Mr. Senior counsel will appear, we will pass another order? In our court, every counsel is the same,” Justice Nagarathna said.

The judge added that the Court does not treat lawyers differently based on their designation, and that what mattered to it was the quality of assistance rendered, not the gown worn.

She also noted that that the Court is sometimes more frustrated by senior counsel who offer only noise and little assistance.

“We look at the gown and say senior counsel or not. Sometimes we say senior counsel, they only say we are not senior counsel. Everybody is the same to us. A junior may assist, we give the best order then. We feel satisfied. If a junior assists very well. But we feel frustrated when a senior doesn’t assist well. Sometimes it’s just noise and no assistance,” Justice Nagarathna remarked.