Allahabad High Court Issues Notice On PIL Seeking ₹5K Financial Support/ Stipend For Junior Lawyers Upto 3 Yrs Of Practice

The Bench of Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Mohd. Faiz Alam Khan has issued notices to U.O.I, UP Bar Council and others.

The PIL has been moved by the petitioner-in-person Ashish Kumar Singh who has averred in the plea that the UP State Government had announced in the month of April of 2020 that a monthly stipend of Rs.5000/- would be paid to the junior Lawyers/Advocates, however, the announcement has not been implemented.

The petitioner has further averred that being a practicing advocate before the Lucknow Bench, as well as being an advocate who renders free legal aid to the marginalized section of the society, is interested in the welfare of the junior members of the legal profession.

Significantly, the plea avers that though an announcement was made by the UP State Government in this regard, however, no steps were taken by the respondents 4 to 7 [Bar Council of UP, its Chairman, UP Advocates Welfare Fund Trustees Committee, and its Chairman] to implement the same till date.

"They have not brought in any rules or formulated any modus including the prescribed application pursuant to announcement made in the month of April of 2020. As per S.16 of the Act, the respondent no. 2 the State Government is cast with the powers and duty to bring in rules to give effect provision of the Act," the Plea further avers.

The plea calls the failure of the respondents to provide a stipend even after more than 2 years of the announcement as nothing but lethargy and arbitrariness on the part of the respondents.

The plea also submits that many of the Bar Associations have risen to the occasion and have pooled resources to ameliorate the situation of lawyers and further, various State Bar Councils and the States of India have come up with a helping hand to the lawyers.

The plea also avers that due to lack of monetary assistance to the junior lawyers/advocates the several lawyers in their initial period of practice engaged in other wrongful activities instead of pursuing this noble profession.

Against this backdrop, the Plea prays that direction be issued to the competent respondents to provide monetary assistance to the junior advocates/ Lawyers of Rs. 5000 /- from their date of registration up to five years.

Case title - Ashish Kumar Singh (In Person) v. U.O.I Thru. Secy. Ministry Of Law And Justice New Delhi And Ors

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