Law Jobs by Akinchan Aggarwal, Advocate — B.A. (Hons.) Gold Medalist, LL.B. (University Rank 2), LL.M. (Dispute Resolution), UGC–NET, Ph.D. (Pursuing)
Applications close Saturday, 29 August 2026. Physical submission only.
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi has invited applications from practising Advocates and Law Firms for empanelment to represent the University before courts across India. The notice is dated 20 August 2026, and applications must reach the Legal Cell in a sealed envelope by 29 August 2026.
That leaves four days. There is no online portal — the application is physical, and it requires documents that take time to assemble.
Most listings of this notice will give you the eligibility and the address. This one gives you the complete fee schedule, which JNU has published and almost nobody reproduces — along with three clauses in the guidelines that materially change what this empanelment is worth.
Four Things That Decide Whether This Is Worth Your Time
1. There is no retainer. You are paid only when you are briefed.
The guidelines are explicit: no retainer fee is payable to any panel Advocate merely because that advocate has been empanelled. Empanelment is admission to a pool, not an income. Whether it pays anything at all depends on how many briefs come your way, and the University reserves the right to decide the size of the panel by reference to its own workload. Treat this as an opportunity to earn, not as a mandate.
2. Advocates already on the JNU panel lose their place and must reapply.
The notice states that advocates on the existing panel shall cease to be on the panel once the new panel is finalised against this notice, and that they may therefore apply afresh. If you are currently empanelled with JNU and assume continuity, that assumption is wrong — and the deadline applies to you exactly as it does to a first-time applicant.
3. A 30% penalty clause is buried in the duties.
This is the single most consequential line in the document. Thirty per cent of the fee payable is deducted if the certified copy of the judgment is not delivered to the JNU Legal Cell within three days of pronouncement — excluding time taken by the court in preparing the copy. Not a warning, not a reprimand: an automatic cut of nearly a third. Anyone joining this panel needs a clerk-level system for collecting and delivering certified copies, because the clause bites on administration, not advocacy.
4. You need three years of income tax returns and three years of audit reports.
The application form requires 3 years' ITRs and 3 years' audit reports, with supporting documents enclosed. This is not a form you can complete on the last evening. If your accounts are with a chartered accountant, start that call today — it is the item most likely to make the deadline impossible.
The Fee Schedule — Revised With Effect From 30 April 2026
JNU has published its approved rates in full. This is the part of the notice that actually tells you what the work is worth.
A. Supreme Court
| Particulars | Charges |
|---|---|
| Drafting of petition or counter affidavit | Rs. 7,000 |
| Supplementary affidavit or rejoinder | Rs. 5,000 |
| Effective hearing / pleading | Rs. 10,000 |
| When the matter is adjourned | Rs. 5,000 |
| Assisting Senior Counsel / Advocate-on-Record | Rs. 5,000 |
| Conference for briefing the AoR / Senior Counsel | Rs. 5,000 |
B. High Court
| Particulars | Charges |
|---|---|
| Drafting of petition or counter affidavit | Rs. 3,500 |
| Supplementary affidavit or rejoinder | Rs. 2,000 |
| Effective hearing / pleading | Rs. 5,000 |
| When the matter is adjourned | Rs. 2,000 |
C. District Courts, Labour Courts, Consumer Forums and Tribunals
| Particulars | Charges |
|---|---|
| Effective hearing / pleading | Rs. 3,000 |
| When the matter is adjourned | Rs. 2,000 |
| Drafting petition / written statement / counter affidavit | Rs. 3,000 |
| Supplementary affidavit / rejoinder / miscellaneous applications | Rs. 2,000 |
| Certified copy of court order / FIR | Rs. 500 |
D. Miscellaneous
| Particulars | Charges |
|---|---|
| Holding a conference | Rs. 5,000 including sitting and conveyance |
| Typing / courier / speed post / clerkage | As per actual bill, subject to a ceiling of 15% of the amount under A, B or C |
| Drafting / filing of caveat petition | Rs. 3,000 |
| Vetting of agreement / MoU / lease / contract | Rs. 5,000 |
| Written legal opinion / legal notice | Rs. 4,000 |
| Inspection of files in courts / commissions / tribunals | Rs. 2,000 |
What the schedule tells you about the economics.
Two features are worth reading carefully. First, adjournments are paid — Rs. 5,000 in the Supreme Court and Rs. 2,000 in the High Court and below. That is unusually candid drafting, and it acknowledges what every practitioner knows about listed matters. Second, and less comfortably, the drafting rates are modest relative to the hearing rates. Rs. 3,500 to draft a High Court writ petition or counter affidavit is well below the Delhi market. The value of this panel therefore lies in volume of appearances, not in drafting fees, and it suits an advocate who is in the Delhi High Court and district courts regularly in any event.
Eligibility
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Qualification | Bachelor's degree in Law from a recognised university, with registration with the Bar Council of India or a State Bar Council |
| Experience | At least 5 years handling Educational Institutes / Universities / Government department cases — writ petitions and appeals — in the Supreme Court, High Courts and District Courts |
| Skills | Good communication in English; sound knowledge of law and procedure in both civil and criminal matters |
| Subject familiarity | Writs, PIL, land disputes, constitutional law, service law, contract law, property laws and taxation |
| Who may apply | Individual practising Advocates and Law Firms |
Read the experience clause narrowly. It is not five years of general practice. It asks for five years in institutional and government litigation — writs and appeals for universities, educational institutions or government departments. A commercial or criminal practitioner of ten years' standing may be a weaker fit on paper than a service-law junior of six. Frame your application accordingly, and lead with the institutional work.
Documents to Enclose
Self-attested copies, with the application in the prescribed format at Annexure-A:
- High School certificate as proof of age (of the senior partner, in the case of a firm)
- Certificates of educational qualifications
- Certificate of registration with the Bar Council
- Identity card issued by the Bar Association or Bar Council
- Details of representation of other Government bodies, PSUs, statutory bodies or universities
- Documents on empanelment with other organisations, if any
- Details of cases with favourable outcomes, particularly those reported in legal journals
- Details of office infrastructure, associates and staff
- PAN card, three years' income tax returns and three years' audit reports
The bio-data format also asks for date of enrolment and registration number, the courts where you practise regularly (with attested Bar Association membership certificate), whether you have been Central or State Government counsel, a brief client list, and separate office, residential and chamber addresses.
How to Apply
Sealed envelope, super-scribed exactly as prescribed, delivered to:
Assistant Registrar (Legal)
Legal Cell, Room No. 117, First Floor, Administration Building
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)
New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi – 110067
The envelope must be super-scribed: "Application for Empanelment of Advocates/Law firms to represent the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi before different Courts of Law". Use that wording, not a paraphrase — a sealed-envelope process with a prescribed super-scription is one where clerical deviation is a real risk.
Two further conditions from the guidelines. Only the prescribed format is accepted — no other format will be entertained. And any application received after the last date will not be entertained, which in a physical process means the paper must be there, not merely posted.
Selection
Applications are considered on merit by the Competent Authority, which may authorise an officer or group of officers to appraise them against:
- Length of practice and specialisation
- Adequacy of infrastructure — office premises, junior advocates, assistants, clerks, telephone and internet
- Three years' annual income tax returns
- Track record and integrity
- Enquiries with the Bar Council or Bar Association about claims and conduct, and verification of credentials
- The opinion of other organisations with which the advocate is empanelled
Shortlisted applicants are called for an interaction session, with the list, date, time and venue published on www.jnu.ac.in. Originals must be produced at the interaction. The final list is also published on the website, with individual empanelment letters issued separately.
Three cautions from the guidelines, each stated in terms: meeting the eligibility criteria confers no right to be empanelled; the decision of the competent authority on shortlisting and selection is final; and canvassing in any form is a disqualification that will result in the candidature being cancelled forthwith.
Tenure and What the Panel Actually Demands
Initial empanelment is for two years, with performance reviewed annually and extension possible year to year. JNU reserves the right to terminate an empanelment at any time without assigning a reason, on one month's written notice — and an advocate may resign on the same notice.
The duties are more exacting than a typical panel arrangement, and they are worth knowing before you apply rather than after:
- Status report after every single hearing. Failure to submit status reports is an express ground for removal from the panel.
- Monthly statement of all cases represented and their outcomes.
- Where a case is decided against the University, a considered opinion on the reasons and on the advisability of appeal, within five working days of the order.
- Orders obtained in urgent matters (dasti) to be sent to the Registrar the same day.
- Attendance at the University to discuss urgent matters whenever called upon.
- Bills to be submitted preferably within three months.
- No extra fee where the Union of India, the Ministry of Education or the UGC must also be represented in the same matter.
- No engaging an advocate of your own choice, and no claim that a particular matter must be entrusted to you.
- Conflict rule: no advising any party or accepting any case against JNU in which you have appeared or may be called on to appear. For firms, the bar extends to the firm as a whole, and to appeals and revisions arising from such cases.
Grounds for removal include false information in the application, unexplained absence from hearings, disregard of instructions, passing case information to the opposing side, misleading the University about proceedings, seeking frequent adjournments or failing to oppose the other side's adjournments without sufficient reason, and frequent absence even where a pass-over or proxy is obtained.
Should You Apply?
Apply if you are a Delhi-based practitioner with five years or more of service, writ and institutional litigation, you already appear regularly in the Delhi High Court and district courts, and your accounts and ITRs are in order. A two-year empanelment with a central university is a solid credential, the subject matter is genuinely interesting — service disputes, student matters, land, contracts — and the appearance rates are reasonable for work you are doing anyway.
Do not apply expecting a retainer. There is none. And go in with clear eyes about the administrative load: status reports after every hearing, monthly statements, five-day appeal opinions, and a 30% fee cut if a certified copy is three days late. This panel pays for diligence in filing cabinets as much as in court.
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Disclaimer: This post summarises the Notice Inviting Application for Empanelment of Advocates issued by Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (Notification No. Empanelment/Legal/JNU/, dated 20 August 2026), and is provided for general information purposes only. It is not an official publication and has no connection with Jawaharlal Nehru University. Note on sources: the particulars above, including the fee schedule, have been read from the official advertisement as supplied on 25 August 2026; the document is a scanned notice and its text was extracted by optical character recognition, so figures and wording should be checked against the original before being relied upon. All particulars — including eligibility, documents required, tenure, fees, duties, grounds for removal and the last date — are liable to change or correction by the University, and the guidelines themselves state that they are subject to change without assigning any reason. Applicants must read the complete official notice and Annexure-A on www.jnu.ac.in and verify every condition, including the last date and the prescribed super-scription, before applying. Nothing here should be relied upon in place of the official notice, and this is not legal or career advice. Please read our Disclaimer for more details.
