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Supreme Court: In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court ruled that the enrolment fee for obtaining an advocate's licence after completing law studies cannot exceed Rs 750 for general category lawyers and Rs 125 for SC-ST category lawyers.
Cannot charge higher fees for lawyer's license
A bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice J.B. Pardiwala made it clear that from now on, State Bar Councils cannot charge any amount in excess of the amount specified in the law towards miscellaneous fees, stamp duty or other fees for practising as a lawyer. Neither State Bar Councils nor the Bar Council of India can charge any additional fee for certifying advocates in excess of the amount specified under Section 24(1)(a) of the Advocates Act.
The fees have been fixed by Parliament through legislation
The Supreme Court has clearly ruled that under Section 24(1)(a) of the Advocates Act, 1961, the enrolment fee payable to the State Bar Council and the Bar Council of India is Rs 750 for general category advocates and Rs 750.125 for SC-ST category advocates and the State Bar Council or the Bar Council of India cannot charge more than the enrolment fee.
At the end of hearing of various writ petitions filed by Ahmedabad based lawyer Param Dave and advocate Gaurav Sharma and others from different states, Supreme Court has given a relief verdict affecting the lawyers across the country.
Under the Sanad, the fee charged in different states is Rs. 25 to 40 thousand
The Supreme Court further said that different bar councils in different states of the country charge fees from lawyers ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 25,000. It has come to light that arbitrary enrollment fees up to Rs 40,000 are being charged. But once the Parliament fixes the enrollment fee, it cannot be violated by the State Bar Council or the Bar Council of India.
Section-24(1)(a) has to be strictly construed as being a fiscal regulatory provision and since Parliament has fixed an amount in exercise of its sovereign powers, the State Bar Council or the Bar Council of India as its representative can alter the fiscal policy prescribed by Parliament under the Act.
Big relief to newly enrolled lawyers
The Supreme Court specifically said that levying excessive enrolment fees for lawyer's licence creates a barrier for people, particularly the marginalised, to continue practising their profession. Any levy in excess of the amount prescribed by law is violative of Article 19(1)(d) of the Constitution and the right to practice.
The Supreme Court also made it clear by this decision that, till now, the State Bar Council is not required to refund the registration fees collected from chartered advocates in excess of the statutory amount. There is no need for the State Bar Council to refund this amount. But now only the above amount specified in the law can be recovered from new lawyers under the lawyer's license.
In this case, writ petitions were also filed in different High Courts of the country and later the Bar Council of India filed a petition to transfer this case to the Supreme Court and hear it in the Supreme Court, which was heard by the Supreme Court and at the end of the long hearing an important decision was given.
What will be the impact of this decision of the Supreme Court…?
When asked about the implications of this important decision of the Supreme Court, Gujarat Bar Council Finance Committee Chairman Anil C. Kela said that this decision of the Supreme Court has given a big relief to the newly enrolled lawyers. Any state bar council of the country can now charge only Rs 750 as enrollment fee from new lawyers under the bar certificate.
This decision will have a direct impact on the revenue of the State Bar Council. However, the Supreme Court has made it clear that the Bar Council is an executive parent body for advocates and is free to perform other duties. But no additional amount can be charged in any item under the enrollment fee. It is worth noting that a fee of Rs 25 thousand is charged in Gujarat.
