Supreme Court disposes of plea seeking allotment of father's Chamber to Law student

The Supreme Court has referred a petition to the Chamber Allotment Committee, which sought allotment of a chamber belonging to a deceased lawyer to his daughter pursuing Law.

The Bench of Justice M.R. Shah and Justice C.T. Ravikumar told petitioner-in-person Anamika Dewan that it cannot pass an order for allotment of the Chamber to her as she was still a student, when there were hundreds of Advocates waiting for a Chamber.

The petitioner then contended that she would be an Advocate in four months.
In the writ petition filed in the nature of Mandamus, the student submitted that her father, who was an Advocate on Record in the Supreme Court, had expired due to Covid-19. She said her father’s hard work would go in vain as he toiled for 30 years for the Chamber.

The Apex Court, while extending full sympathy towards the petitioner, told her that Chmaber allotment would be done according to the seniority.

The Bench was about to dismiss the plea, when the petitioner referred to Section 7B of the Chamber Allotment Rules, which stated that in case of death of an allottee of a Chamber, his son/daughter/spouse, if an Advocate, may be allotted the said portion of the Chamber if the Allotment Committee was satisfied that such person was practising in the Supreme Court.

The top court of the country then disposed of the matter by referring it to the Chamber Allotment Committee.

(Case title: Anamika Dewan vs Registrar, Supreme Court of India and Others)