CJI Surya Kant Urges New Advocates-on-Record to Prioritize Professional Quality Over Online Popularity

New Delhi: Observing that visibility is not same as credibility, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Wednesday asked newly qualified Advocates-on-Record of 2025 batch to avoid the temptation to run after online popularity and work hard in the profession.

Speaking at the felicitation ceremony for the newly qualified AORs by the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA), the CJI said being qualified as an AOR is not only a professional upgrade but also an enlargement of duty.

An AoR is a specially-qualified lawyer authorised by the Supreme Court to act and plead on behalf of clients in the apex court. Only AoRs can file appearances, petitions or documents in the top court, ensuring procedural compliance and high-level representation.

"Titles may open a door but do not build a career. What builds a career is the quality of your work. So my suggestion is that (you) do not worry how quickly people recognise your name; instead make sure that whenever your name appears on a case file, the bench knows it will find a very well-prepared lawyer and a paperbook," CJI Kant said.

He said recognition comes naturally to those who keep improving their legal craft every day.

"So, I would request (you) to resist the distraction that often accompanies the early years of practice. Nowadays, it is very easy to become visible and known through social media. But remember that visibility is not the same as credibility.

"Avoid the temptation to measure success by online popularity. You are not to run like a TV channel where you are worried about TRP," the CJI said.

He told the AORs that the respect that truly matters is what they earn inside the courtroom, from colleagues and the Bar.

"What eventually sustains spanning decades is sombre and unglamorous hard work and not in social media comments," the CJI said.

Commenting on the use of artificial intelligence (AI), the CJI said it is easy to prepare a draft petition with the help of AI but there has to be always an application of mind by the lawyer.

The CJI said when a client engages a lawyer, he engages a human being, not AI, and it is only a human being who can understand the emotional aspects of the case.

Supreme Court judges K V Viswanathan and Vipul Pancholi, Attorney General R Venkataramani and SCAORA president Devvrat also spoke on the occasion.

Two hundred seven lawyers have cleared the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record examination conducted in June 2025.