In a first, the Kerala Government has created the post of Senior Standing Counsel for representing the State before the Supreme Court and appointed advocate Ramesh Babu to the newly created position. The decision was approved by the State Cabinet as part of a broader restructuring of Kerala’s legal representation before the apex court.

Alongside Ramesh Babu’s appointment, the Cabinet also appointed Advocates Sulfikar Ali, Aljo Joseph, Marsook Thangal, and James P. Thomas as Standing Counsel to represent the State before the Supreme Court in constitutional, civil, criminal, service and other matters.

The creation of the post marks a departure from Kerala’s earlier practice of engaging standing counsel and senior advocates on a case-to-case basis.

The appointments form part of a wider overhaul of the State’s law officer appointments following the formation of the new Congress-led government after the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections.