New Delhi, Feb. 12 -- The full bench of the Supreme Court has decided to keep out lawyers from the process of designating senior advocates, marking a departure from the existing practice since 2017, in the latest guidelines that was approved on Tuesday. The new rules titled "Guidelines for Designation of Senior Advocates by the Supreme Court of India, 2026" released by the top court on Wednesday carried out changes in the designation process as declared by a May 13, 2025 decision by a three-judge bench. This judgment proposed sweeping changes to the existing 2023 guidelines, which included doing away with the points-based assessment of lawyers. According to the earlier guidelines, the designation was to be recommended by a Permanent Committ...