The Kerala Bar Council has notified Kerala Advocates’ Welfare Fund Act, 1980 wherein the trustee committee determines the stipend payable to Junior Lawyer not exceeding Rs.5000 per month.
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.
An applicant, who is eligible for stipend under the Act and these rules shall submit the application for stipend in Form I, along with the documents to support their eligibility subject to the following conditions, namely the applicant shall be a member of the Fund and is not in default of annual subscription to the Fund under sub-section (5) of section 15 of the Act; the applicant has applied for Certificate of Practice as on the date of application for stipend in Form I; the applicant’s annual income, at the time of application does not exceed rupees one lakh and the applicant shall, along with the application, submit an annual income certificate issued by the competent Revenue/Tax Authority, certifying that the annual income of the applicant are less than Rupees one lakh, during the financial year immediately preceding the date of making application for stipend; the applicant has not exceeded the age of thirty years and the applicant shall, along with the application, submit a copy of the birth certificate of the applicant; the applicant is neither substantially or full time pursuing any course of study nor earning substantial income from any source other than from the legal profession or part time teaching in law; the applicant, along with the application, shall submit, a certificate issued in Form II by the presiding officer of the Court or Tribunal where the applicant is practicing certifying that the applicant is in actual practice at the time of making the application for stipend along with a certificate issued by the President or Secretary of the Bar Association of which the applicant is a member in Form III showing that the applicant is in less than three years actual practice at the Bar at the time of making the application for stipend.
An application for stipend shall be forwarded through and recommended by the Bar Association, of which the applicant is a member; an applicant, for the eligibility under these rules shall submit a sworn declaration in Form IV as to the correctness of the particulars furnished in the application in Form I and to the effect that the applicant shall assist the Legal Services Committee constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, (Central Act 39 of 1987), which is attached to the Court in which the applicant is in actual practice and shall attend whatever the number of cases are allotted to and also undertake to attend, in a year at least two courses of the Refresher Courses, Seminars, Continuing Legal Education Programmes, Professional Development Courses or Workshops conducted by the Bar Council of Kerala.
The stipend shall be paid into the bank account of the applicant, as per the account details, furnished in the application.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentSupport our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan AdFree. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates.
