India, July 14 -- The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Orissa high court's full court decision to confer senior designation to five lawyers in 2021, reiterating that the procedure laid down by the top court for senior designations does not take away the high court's suo motu power to designate senior advocates based on fairness, transparency and objectivity.

A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan further said that nobody can claim senior designation as a matter of right based on seniority, experience or popularity as this discretion is conferred upon the high court or the Supreme Court, which should be satisfied that the advocate possesses outstanding ability, integrity, and professional standing.

The top court had the occas...