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The Madras High Court has asked advocates and senior advocates enrolled in the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to pay a monthly stipend of Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000 to junior advocates engaged with them.
Explaining their purpose behind the move, the court emphasised on the need to create an inbuilt system to support our very own juniors by providing them with support systems to thrive on.
“Our profession is proud to possess a sizable number of first generation lawyers and it is only their minimum need and expectations that they earn a monthly stipend to cover their cost of living,” it added.
The court was hearing a case pertaining to the implementation of the Advocates' Welfare Fund Act, 2001. The petitioner Farida Begam had approached the court seeking a writ of mandamus with suitable directions to the concerned government departments to enforce the said Act in accordance with notification dated G.O. Ms No. 14/2008- LD., dated 02.07.2008. Additionally, the petitioner had also prayed for a compensation of Rs. 2,500,000 and costs from the respondents.
Responding to the petitioner's case, the court issued the following directions:
Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the Government of Puducherry and recognised associations at Pondicherry and Karaikkal to coordinate and finalise the proposal for amending Schedule - 1 to enhance the welfare fund scheme expeditiously.
Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to issue guidelines/instructions/circulars to all advocates/senior advocates in the state rolls to ensure prompt settlement of welfare fund scheme benefits.
During the court proceedings, The bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice C Kumarappan also touched upon the issue of pay disparity based on gender.
“Though this systemic issue of gender pay gap is beginning to gain attention, this issue is rarely spoken about. It is high time that we start making the difference. Hence the minimum stipend fixed above shall be extended to all junior lawyers without any kind of discrimination based on gender”, it said.
The court had previously batted for fixing minimum monthly stipend for junior lawyers in its order dated June 12.
