New Delhi, June 4 (UNI) The President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, has written to Chief Justice of India BR Gavai raising concerns over the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) allegedly acting beyond its mandate.

In his letter, Singh stated that the intention behind placing the concerns on record was to ensure that there remains a unified voice within the Bar on issues relating to Supreme Court lawyers.

"I am placing these concerns on record to set the matter straight and to ensure that the functioning of this institution remains cohesive, disciplined, and free from unnecessary overlaps or conflicts, particularly in matters concerning the general interests of the Bar or the infrastructure of the Supreme Court."

The letter alleged that the SCAORA has recently taken positions on issues that fall under the exclusive domain of the SCBA.

It stated that the SCBA alone represents the interests of all categories of lawyers practising in the Supreme Court.

The letter highlighted that SCBA currently has 22,734 members, including 10,013 permanent and 12,309 temporary members, as well as 906 Senior Advocates, AoRs, and about 19,000 non-AoR practitioners. It added that while there are 3,786 registered AoRs with the Supreme Court, only about 3,000 are members of SCAORA.

Singh referred to a communication issued by SCAORA on June 2, 2025, to the Secretary General of the Supreme Court regarding biometric entry for lawyers. The letter alleged that the issue was presented as one concerning the entire Bar, which Singh objected to.

"There is absolutely no question of members of the Bar voluntarily offering such extensive personal information to the Registry of the Supreme Court. If, on the other hand, there is any mandate from the Supreme Court for security reasons, upon discussion with the SCBA, the Bar would, of course, fully cooperate."

The letter stated that the existing proximity card system for lawyers was functioning efficiently and raised concerns about data privacy in the context of biometric data collection.

Singh also referred to the Supreme Court's decision in the Supreme Court Bar Assn. v. B.D. Kaushik, stating that the Court has recognised SCBA as the only association representing all members of the Supreme Court Bar, including Senior Advocates, Advocates, and AoRs.

"Clearly, the Supreme Court Bar Association is the only recognised court-annexed bar association in terms of the above judgment of this Court that represents the members regularly practising in the Supreme Court and not the Supreme Court AoR Association/SCAORA."

The letter concluded by stating that SCAORA should confine its activities to AoR-specific matters such as filing procedures and registry protocols.

UNI SNG RN