Tamil Nadu appoints Senior Advocates Prashanto Chandra Sen and Haripriya Padmanabhan as Additional Advocate Generals for Supreme Court

The Government of Tamil Nadu appointed Senior Advocates Prashanto Chandra Sen and Haripriya Padmanabhan as Counsel for the State in the rank of Additional Advocate General to represent the State before the Supreme Court of India.

The appointments were made on a temporary basis in light of the circumstances brought to the notice of the Government by the Advocate General of Tamil Nadu. The appointees were to discharge their duties as State counsel before the Supreme Court until regular Law Officers were selected and appointed in accordance with the Law Officers of High Court of Madras and its Bench at Madurai (Appointment) Rules, 2017.

Senior Advocate Prashanto Chandra Sen has been involved in multiple high-profile constitutional and regulatory cases, including submissions in the challenge to the abrogation of Article 370¹. He has also appeared before the Supreme Court in matters relating to electoral roll revisions and the Election Commission’s procedures², where issues of procedural fairness and voter inclusion were examined by the Court.

Senior Advocate Haripriya Padmanabhan has similarly appeared in significant constitutional and service-related litigation, with experience in representing parties before constitutional courts on issues involving governance, regulatory frameworks, and public law disputes ³. She has also been appointed as an arbitrator in arbitral proceedings.

She was also known for representing the group whose petition led to restrictions on the sale of firecrackers linked to worsening air quality in Delhi, following a prolonged legal battle pursued before the Supreme Court since 2015. Additionally, she was involved in proceedings arising out of the suo motu case concerning the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, before the Supreme Court.⁴

The appointments reflected the State Government’s effort to maintain uninterrupted and experienced legal representation before the Supreme Court during the transitional period.