MP High Court Dismisses Law Student's PIL Seeking Framing Of Rules Regarding Working Conditions, Stipend For Law Interns

The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by a Law Student seeking a direction to the Bar Council of India to frame rules regarding working hours, other conditions, and payment of stipends to the Law Interns.

Observing that the Writ Petition is miserably misdirected in the context of reliefs sought for, the Bench of Justice Rohit Arya and Justice Deepak Kumar Agarwal noted that If a law student is expected to do an internship, he can not be a liability either that of a Bar Council of India.

Essentially, the Court was dealing with a PIL petition filed by Siddharth Shrivastava, a law student, in pro bono publico litigation, primarily with the following reliefs:-

1. Direct respondents to immediately constitute a committee and start working on the rules to govern inters regarding working hours, working conditions, stipend etc.
2. Make stipend mandatory for interns working in private sector and to draft rules for government offices about what internship should be paid and what should not, to prevent every intern from getting exploited.
3. Make a forum dedicated to solve the issues faced by interns only.

At the outset, the Court noted that the tenor, in which the writ petition had been drafted and relief claimed, it appeared that the petitioner was trying to assert as if either he is in the employment of the Bar Council of India or that of the establishment named in the prayer clause seeking rights as regards working hours and payment of stipends and other conditions.

Further, stressing that if a law student is expected to do an internship, he can not be a liability either that of a Bar Council of India or for that purpose any other establishment, the Court added thus:

"...instead, he has to gain experience with the permission granted to attend the court proceedings during court hours/working hours of establishment. Such experience shall enure benefit to him in furtherance of his career and not otherwise."

With this, the Writ Petition was dismissed. 

Case title - Siddharth Shrivastava Vs. Bar Council of India and another

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