The Supreme Court of India has notified the schedule for the Advocates-on-Record Examination, December 2026, which will be held in New Delhi on December 19, 20, 22 and 23, 2026.
The examination will be conducted in pen-and-paper mode and will be open to candidates eligible to appear or re-appear under the relevant provisions of the Advocates-on-Record Examination Regulations.
Applications are to be submitted at the AOR Examination Cell, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi, between October 1 and October 15, 2026. The Registry has clarified that applications will not be accepted after 5 PM on October 15. The examination fee is ?750, payable online.
The four papers for the examination are:
● Practice and Procedure,
● Drafting,
● Advocacy and Professional Ethics, and
● Leading Cases
For the Drafting paper, the notified syllabus includes petitions for Special Leave, statements of cases, decrees and orders, as well as appeals, plaints and written statements under Article 131, review petitions under Article 137, transfer petitions under Section 25 of the CPC and criminal petitions, including petitions under Article 136 of the Constitution and the corresponding provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
The Advocacy and Professional Ethics paper will cover professional ethics, the legal profession, duties of advocates, professional and other misconduct, advertising and solicitation, the role of the Bar Council of India, conflict of duties and interests, confidentiality and issues concerning advocacy in criminal proceedings. The syllabus also covers recent developments concerning the legal profession and the Supreme Court’s practice and obligations relating to the administration of justice.
For the Leading Cases paper, the Registry has notified a list of 86 cases. The list includes Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, Minerva Mills Ltd. v. Union of India, Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India, Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India and other judgments.
It allows candidates with benchmark disabilities and specified disabilities who have difficulty writing to seek assistance from a scribe.