In a matter of grave concern, Senior Advocate Rishi Malhotra risks the danger of being stripped of his designation for “sharp practices’’ adopted by him. A member privy to the full court meeting confirmed that this was the main focus of discussion. Malhotra was designated as a Senior Advocate in September-October 2024.

The Supreme Court's full court, led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI), has issued a show cause notice to the Senior Advocate , asking him to explain why his senior designation should not be revoked. This decision was taken during a full court meeting held on March 12,2025.

The meeting was convened after the CJI was informed about a recent judgment authored by Justice Oka, which raised concerns regarding the practices adopted by Malhotra. The Supreme Court's February 20 ruling highlighted issues with the current process of senior advocate designation and brought attention to key flaws in the system, referring the matter to the CJI for further examination by a larger bench.

That judgment also flagged Malhotra's conduct, prompting the full court to take action. His questionable behaviour came to light after an Advocate-on-Record (AOR), who was previously his junior, informed the top court that he had signed an appeal at Malhotra's request without knowing that it failed to disclose certain crucial facts.

Malhotra’s disputable behaviour came to light when the Supreme Court found that an appeal filed through Advocate on Record (AOR), Jaydip Pati, omitted key details relevant to the case. These facts were suppressed in an appeal seeking remission of a convict's sentence. Consequently, the court sought an explanation from Pati.

In response, Pati submitted an affidavit stating that he never questioned Malhotra's good faith having been Malhotra’s chamber junior and, signed the pleadings as requested emphasizing that he had not imagined that Malhotra would misuse their professional relationship.

Later, in December 2024, a bench led by Justice Oka strongly criticized Malhotra for allegedly failing to inform his client about the case's status despite having received legal fees.

Notably, in January 2023, former CJI DY Chandrachud had praised Malhotra during a hearing, stating, "We must commend that whenever you appear before us, you always place the facts in a clear manner. Even facts against your client. So we know there is a degree of assurance here’’.