The Bar Council of Kerala has notified rules for payment of stipend upto ₹5,000 per month to lawyers with less than three years practice at the Bar and an annual income not exceeding ₹1 lakh.
The lawyer should also not exceed 30 years of age to be eligible for stipend.
In exercise of the powers conferred by the provisions of the Kerala Advocates’ Welfare Fund Act, 1980, the Bar Council issued a notification dated December 18, 2021 with the The Kerala Advocates’ Stipend Rules, 2021
The dispersal of stipend will be done in the following manner:
- It shall be disbursed from the Kerala Advocates’ Welfare Fund;
- The Trustee Committee may disburse payment of stipend to the applicant every month as far as possible or at such intervals as decided by the Trustee Committee;
- The Trustee Committee, from time to time, with the prior approval of the Government, shall determine the amount of stipend payable to an advocate not exceeding ₹5,000 per month;
- Period of stipend–The maximum period for which stipend shall be granted shall be three years of actual practice from the date of the advocate passing the All India Bar Examination or up to the advocate attaining the age of thirty years, whichever is earlier;
- The applicant’s annual income, at the time of application should not exceed ₹1 lakh;
- Applicants who are eligible for receiving stipend under the Act and the Rules must submit an application form along with the necessary documents.
The Kerala High Court had previously pulled up the Bar Council of Kerala for the delay in implementing a Government Order(GO) issued in March 2018, which had sanctioned payment of ₹5,000 per month as stipend for junior lawyers
The Additional Advocate General Ashok Cherian had explained away the delay on the basis of the large amount of resources, nearly ₹36 crore per annum, that would be required to implement the order
Senior Advocate Gracious Kuriakose, appearing for the Bar Council of Kerala, had submitted that the rules are already framed and submitted before the government.
The Court had, therefore, directed the Kerala Government and Bar Council to submit a report with the Court by today, December 20.
The matter was taken by Justice PV Kunhikrishnan today who closed the writ petition saying “I am happy”.
Read Notification here:
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