The petition noted that the enrolment fee in Odisha is ₹42,000. Image for representation purpose only.
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The Supreme Court on April 10 sought a response from the Bar Council of India (BCI) in a petition challenging the “exorbitant and oppressive” fees charged by State Bar Councils for “young and aspiring” lawyers to register with them as legal professionals.
A Bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud issued a formal notice to the BCI in the petition filed by Gaurav Kumar, who said the registration fee charged in States like Odisha, Kerala, Jharkhand, etc, was violative of Article 14 (fundamental right to equality and equal treatment) of the Constitution.
“Financially poor young lawyers find it difficult to pay the enrolment fee which run into thousands of Rupees,” Mr. Kumar submitted.
He said such enrolment fee charged by State Bar Councils were also in violation of Section 24 of the Advocates Act.
Section 24(1)(e) provides that State Bar Councils should charge ₹600 and ₹150 by BCI by way of bank draft. A member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe communities needs to pay only ₹100 and ₹25 for enrollment into State Bar Councils and BCI, respectively.
“This is a significant issue… The petitioner says it is ₹42,000 in Odisha whereas ₹21,000 in Kerala… and thus denies aspiring young persons who do not have the resources the opportunity,” the court noted.