Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Inaugurates Monthly Stipend Scheme For Junior Lawyers In Kerala

The monthly stipend scheme mandating payment of Rs. 3000 per month for junior lawyers in Kerala was inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday.

The scheme promises a monthly stipend of Rs. 3,000 for junior lawyers in the State. Lawyers below 30 years of age with less than three years of practice and an annual income less than Rs. 1 lakh are eligible for the stipend.

The event was organised by the Bar Council of Kerala and the Kerala Advocates' Welfare Fund Trust Committee. Justice S. Manikumar, Kerala High Court Chief Justice, was the Chief Guest of the event.

The Kerala Government had declared the stipend scheme in a government order issued on 24.06.2022. The order was issued considering the Kerala Advocates' Stipend Rules notified by the State Bar Council in 2021 which stipulate that the stipend to lawyers may be disbursed from the Fund by the Trustee Committee on a monthly basis or at such intervals as decided by the Trustee Committee and shall be paid into the bank account of the applicant.

Section 9 of the Kerala Advocates Welfare Fund Act, 1980 enables the Trustee Committee to provide monthly stipends to junior lawyers. The stipend is to be disbursed out of the Advocates Welfare Fund constituted under the Act.

Previously, vide an order dated March 9, 2018, the Kerala Government had sanctioned a monthly stipend of upto Rs.5000/- for junior lawyers of a specified category, payable out of the Welfare Fund created under Kerala Advocate's Welfare Fund Act, 1980.

However, alleging lack of proper implementation of the 2018 decision, a plea was moved in the Kerala High Court seeking assistance for lawyers suffering on account the COVID-19 crisis. The Court had come down heavily upon the State Bar Council for non-implementation of the scheme, observing that it cannot pretend that it does not see the agony of junior lawyers. The matter was closed after the court recorded its satisfaction with the enactment of the 2021 Rules.

After the 2021 Rules were notified, the Trustee Committee made recommendations to the State Government, on the basis of which the June 2022 GO was issued mandating a monthly stipend of Rs. 3000 for junior lawyers. The annual income limit is however not applicable to those belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The scheme was inaugurated on Saturday at Kerala High Court Auditorium. The function was presided over by Adv. K. N. Anil Kumar, the Chairman, Bar Council of Kerala. P. Rajeeve, State Law Minister, K. Rajan State Revenue Minister, and Sr. Adv. K. Gopalakrishna Kurup, Advocate General of Kerala, also spoke at the function.