The National Medical Commission is seeking applications for standing counsels aimed at bolstering its legal expertise.

New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has invited applications from advocates to empanel 17 standing counsels to represent it before the Supreme Court, High Courts and their benches across the country, with preference for lawyers experienced in medical institution and medical negligence cases.According to an Expression of Interest (EOI) issued on October 30, the commission is seeking one standing counsel for the Supreme Court and 16 positions across various High Courts. These include two positions each at the Delhi High Court and Himachal Pradesh High Court, and one each at the Karnataka High Court’s Bengaluru, Dharwad and Kalaburagi benches, Uttarakhand High Court at Nainital, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court’s Srinagar and Jammu benches, Rajasthan High Court’s Jodhpur bench, Bombay High Court’s Nagpur and Goa benches, Gauhati High Court’s Kohima and Aizawl benches, and Jharkhand High Court at Ranchi.The eligibility criteria require applicants to be between 35 and 70 years of age as on November 1, 2026, registered with the concerned State Bar Council and to have completed at least 100 appearances before the Supreme Court or a High Court in the preceding three years. Applicants must also have a minimum of 10 years’ experience handling constitutional, civil, criminal or educational institution matters before High Courts. For the Supreme Court position, applicants must be Advocates-on-Record with at least 10 years of experience.The NMC has said preference will be given to advocates with experience in medical institution and medical negligence cases, as well as those who have handled cases involving government organisations, institutions, departments and public sector undertakings.The empanelled advocates will represent the commission in court, draft petitions, counter-affidavits and other legal documents, conduct legal research, provide legal opinions and coordinate with government departments. They will also be required to keep the commission updated on important developments and hearing dates and submit monthly and annual statements of cases handled and their outcomes.The empanelment will be for three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier, and may be extended based on performance. There will be no fixed retainer fee, with payments governed by the revised fee structure prescribed by the Department of Legal Affairs, Union law ministry.

Applications must be submitted in the prescribed format by November 30, 2026. The commission will scrutinise applications through a screening committee, followed by interviews of shortlisted candidates, either physically or virtually.