The Supreme Court on Thursday decided to defer the Advocates-on-Record (AOR) examination for the year 2026, taking into account the prevailing strength of the AOR cadre.
As per a formal notification issued by the Registrar (Judicial) and Secretary to the Board of Examiners, the competent authority has accorded approval for the postponement of the examination for the current cycle. The next examination is tentatively scheduled for 2027, with the detailed schedule to be notified in due course.
Under the extant Supreme Court Rules and established procedural framework, only those advocates who successfully clear the AOR examination are conferred the exclusive right of audience to institute proceedings, file vakalatnamas, settle pleadings, and conduct litigation independently before the Apex Court.
The AOR designation constitutes a distinct and regulated class within the Supreme Court Bar, governed by stringent eligibility and qualification norms.
As per the official data, the total strength of Advocates-on-Record stood at 3,996 as of April 16, 2026, including 205 recently inducted practitioners, thereby augmenting the available pool of authorised counsel.
The AOR examination is conducted on an annual basis as part of the Apex Court’s regulatory mechanism to control and standardise entry into this specialised segment of legal practice. The present decision effectively suspends the intake cycle for one year, premised on the sufficiency of the existing bar strength.
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