Bombay High Court Questions Right Of Young Lawyers To Claim Stipend From State Bar Council, Asks Who Will Provide Funds

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday (June 25) questioned if young lawyers had any statutory right to claim stipend from the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa.

While the bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne personally agreed that young lawyers must be given a stipend, even Rs 45,000 in a city like Mumbai, the bench still questioned the legal right based on which such a stipend could be claimed from the Bar Council.

“On a personal level we both support you… We agree with you principally but what is the legal basis? How do we give it? BCMG doesn’t have funds… Will you give some amount?” the court asked the Petitioners.

The Court was hearing a PIL filed by Ajit Vijay Deshpande, seeking a directive to the BCMG to pay a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000 to young lawyers across Maharashtra. The petitioner at the time of filing the PIL in 2021, was studying law.

The court remarked that prima facie no “public interest” was involved in the petition as the issue was only concerned with the lawyers.

“What has the public at large to do with the stipend paid to young members of the Bar? It is only for advocates not for the public…We appreciate the cause but from where will the money come from? We say not Rs 5k but you should get Rs 25k… but what is the legal right in this that you seek a mandamus?” the court questioned.

The petitioners informed the court that the Delhi High Court had issued a directive to the Bar Council of India with respect to the minimum stipend to junior lawyers. When the court asked what the Bar Council has decided in this regard, the petitioners informed that presently the Bar Council has recommended Rs. 20,000 for advocates in urban areas and Rs. 15,000 for advocates in rural areas.

To this, CJ Aradhe said that in a city like Mumbai, a young advocate might need up to Rs. 45,000. However, the judge again questioned if there was a statutory right to claim such a stipend. The court wondered how the Bar Council would have a statutory obligation to pay the stipend and how it would arrange funds for the same.

Advocate Uday Warunjikar, appearing for the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, informed the court that though in some states, the local government has funded the stipends and has brought in schemes, it was not possible in Maharashtra as the government here had refused to allocate funds. He also informed the court that the enrollment fee for lawyers has been reduced from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 600, thereby showing a decline in the funds collected by the Bar Council.

After hearing the parties, the court asked the petitioners to examine the statutory right of young lawyers and the bar council’s obligation to pay money and adjourned the case by 2 weeks.

(Compiled by Upasana Sajeev)