Kerala High Court designates P.B. Menon, the world's longest-serving lawyer, as Senior Advocate

The Kerala High Court has designated advocate P.B. Menon as a Senior Advocate with effect from 12.10.2026.
The notification records that the Chief Justice and Judges resolved to designate him under Section 16(2) of the Advocates Act, 1961, read with Rule 2 of the High Court of Kerala (Designation of Senior Advocates) Rules, 2026.
Menon, who hails from Palakkad district and practises on the civil side in his hometown, began litigation in the early 1950s after graduating from Madras Law College, a career spanning about 76 years.
In 2023, at the age of 97, he entered the Guinness World Records as the longest-serving lawyer in the world.
Bar and Bench reports that the designation came on the initiative of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and was timed to his 100th birthday on 15 October, and that it may be the first time the Kerala High Court has designated a lawyer practising before mofussil courts as a Senior Advocate.

Effective from: 12.10.2026 Legal provision: Section 16(2), Advocates Act, 1961 Guinness record year: 2023 Home district: Palakkad
Why it matters for exams: Senior Advocate designation under Section 16 of the Advocates Act, 1961 is a standard polity and judiciary question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
14 October 2026 Source: LiveLaw

In plain words

Mofussil court Mofussil court — A court outside the main metropolitan or High Court centre, usually a district or taluk court.