The Two – bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha of Supreme Court of India directed the states to file unfiled counter affidavits on enrolment fee of law graduates within 4 weeks and any counter affidavits beyond said dates would be forfeited.
While hearing the writ petition filed by Gaurav Kumar (petitioner) challenging the fee charged by the state bar councils on law graduates, the Chief Justice of India stated that the Bar Council of India (BCI) should intervene in the matter of enrolment fee for the law graduates.
The CJI stated his concern about the poor students in rural areas who can’t afford an exorbitant fee of ₹ 40,000 and ₹ 23,000. The bar council is doing a daylight robbery over the students.
The Supreme Court relied on Section 24(1)(e) of Advocates Act, 1961 which prescribed fees of Rs. 600 to State Bar Council and Rs.150 to Bar Council of India. However, as per the records Odisha bar council charges ₹42,100 and highest compared to all other states.
Recently, a Single Bench of Justice Shaji P Chaly of the High Court of Kerala imposed restrictions on the state bar council’s authority to charge more than 750 as an enrollment fee through an interim order. Nevertheless the temporary order has been contested by the Kerala Bar Council.
The bench did not support the assertion of Manan Kumar Mishra, Senior Advocate who represented the Bar Council of India, Rs 600 enrolment fee was set in 1993, but costs have increased significantly since then.
As mentioned above, the state of Odisha has the highest fee of ₹42,100 and the amount was divided as follows: Enrolment fee – Rs. 12,000; Welfare fund under rule 40 BCI -Rs. 3,600; Advocates welfare fund (State Bar Council) – Rs. 10,000; Application / Enrolment form fees – Rs. 2000; Secretary, BCI fees – Rs. 1200; Advocates Welfare Fund Trust – Rs. 3,300; Other schemes (Death, accidental, retirement or pension funds) – Rs. 10,000. This is one set of classification of amounts.
The Kerala Bar Council is charging Rs. 20,050 as total enrolment fee and the amount is divided as follows: Enrolment fee – Rs. 600; Welfare fund under rule 40 BCI – Rs 3,000; Application / Enrolment form fees – Rs. 1,000; Registration fees – Rs. 3,000; Certificate fees – Rs. 2,000; Processing and Verification Fees – Rs. 4000; Identity card fees – Rs. 200; Photographs and CD Fees – Rs. 350; Advocate’s Act Book Fee- Rs. 750; Continuing legal Education – Rs. 2,500; Chairman’s Relief Fund – Rs. 1,000; Bar Council India Collection Fund- Rs. 150
From the above data it is clear that there is no uniformity in the states while collecting the fee. Each state bar council has their own propaganda for collecting fees and in different names. The students were under pressure to pay the huge amount for enrolment on their dream profession.
In consultation with the Bar Council of India and other State Bar Councils, it is now time for the Central Government to implement a uniform fee that is very minimal for all states. The Supreme Court has requested Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India to help in this situation.
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