The practice of having  a distinguished class of senior pleaders with considerable status and experience in India can be traced back to legal practice in the United Kingdom . This category is said to have originated in the 13 th century  as a distinguished class of senior pleader known as Serjeants -at Law . In the 18 th century , selection in another such category , known as King’s / Queen’s Counsel became a matter of honour and a recognisation of profession  of eminence .     

The designation of Senior Advocates in India is a privilege awarded as a mark of excellence to advocates who have distinguished themselves and have made a significant contribution to the development of the legal profession . It identifies advocates whose standing and achievements would justify an expectation on the part of the clients , judiciary and the public, that they can provide outstanding services as advocates in the best of the administration of justice .   The designation of Senior Advocates in India  is provided by section 16 of the Advocates Act , 1961 . Each High Court has their rules and regulations for designation of Senior Advocates. The Honourable Supreme Court of India has fine  tuned the process of Designation of Senior Advocates by the Honourable Supreme Court of  India . Highlights of the guidance are , generally advocates over age of 45 years are designated as Senior Advocates , only exceptional Advocates below age of 45 years should be considered , power of suo motu designation by Full court was not taken away by Supreme Court Guidelines to regulate Conferment of Designation of Senior Advocates of 2018  . The Permanent Committee was empowered to assess applications on the basis of  point based format .