Following Madras HC Order, Bar Council Of TN & Puducherry Issues Circular Mandating Stipend For Junior Lawyers

“ln view of the order passed by the Hon'ble High Court of Madras in W.p. No. 1797612019 dated 12.06.2024, the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the General Council Meeting held on 05.07.2024, has passed a Resolution vide Resolution No. 52012024 to circulate the said order to all the Bar/Advocate Associations intimating about the directions issued by the Hon'ble High Court of Madras which reads as follows,” the circular read.

In June this year, a bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice C Kumarappan asked the advocates in the state rolls of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu & Puducherry to pay a monthly stipend of Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000 to Junior Advocates engaged with them.

The circular also lists the directions the High Court gave, asking Junior Advocates practicing in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai to be paid Rs. 20,000 and those practicing in other districts to be paid Rs. 15,000. The court had also highlighted the issue of the gender pay gap and had insisted that the minimum stipend fixed by the court was to be extended to all junior lawyers without any discrimination based on gender.

“The Hon'ble High Court also observed that it is the incumbent duty of all the stakeholders in the legal profession to provide an environment where every member of the legal fraternity feel valued and treated with respect. Opinions and thoughts may differ but the pages of our history have shown that the Lawyer community as a whole have always been the torchbearers of self-expression,” the circular said.

While issuing the directions, the court had made it clear that it attempted to create an inbuilt system to support the juniors. The court added that while the profession had succeeded in making space for youths from diverse social and economic backgrounds it was also important to keep their momentum from diminishing as they face the profession's challenges.