The Madras High Court said that senior lawyers not paying even a minimum stipend amount to the junior lawyers who work with them, amounts to exploitation and breaches the junior lawyers’ fundamental rights.
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Chennai: The Madras High Court condemned the practice of senior lawyers not paying a minimum stipend to junior lawyers who work with them, labeling it as exploitation and a breach of the junior lawyers’ fundamental rights.
In an order passed on June 3, a bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and C Kumarappan directed the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry to develop guidelines for establishing a standard minimum stipend for junior lawyers.
The Bench emphasized that Section 6 of the Advocates Act of 1961 mandates Bar Councils to work for the welfare of all registered lawyers.
The Court stated that the TN Bar Council is obligated to protect the interests of lawyers registered with it. The Bench remarked,
“Further, it is brought to our notice that young brilliant lawyers after enrolling themselves as Advocates in Bar council of Tamil Nadu is unable to survive on account of the fact that the senior lawyers / lawyers engaging the services of these junior lawyers, are not paying even the minimum stipend to meet out their livelihood. Extracting work without payment is an exploitation and directly in violation of the fundamental rights enshrined under the Constitution. The livelihood of these young brilliant lawyers, who have started their practice with a fond hope must be encouraged by the senior lawyers, legal fraternity and the Courts.”
These observations were made during the hearing of a petition filed by Farida Begum, highlighting that around 200 applications submitted by lawyers seeking benefits under The Tamil Nadu Advocate’s Welfare Fund had been pending for months.
Advocate CK Chandraasekar, representing the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, informed the Court that the applicants had not been paid because the Tamil Nadu government had not yet released the necessary funds.
He also noted that the Puducherry government had not approved the Welfare Scheme, resulting in no lawyers in Puducherry receiving any benefits so far.
The Bench directed both the Tamil Nadu government and the authorities in Puducherry to respond to the plea and provide details on the number of lawyers eligible for benefits, the allocated funds, and the amounts released. The Bench further observed that the non-payment of any stipend to junior lawyers by senior lawyers was unacceptable.
“Exploitation at no circumstances can be permitted nor be appreciated. Therefore, it is the function of the Bar Council to ensure that the livelihood of these lawyers are protected by fixing minimum stipend to be paid in the event of engaging the services of the junior lawyers, who have enrolled,”
-the Court said.
The TN Bar Council has been instructed to gather and present instructions on the issue by June 12. This directive underscores the Court’s commitment to ensuring fair treatment and financial stability for junior lawyers starting their legal careers.
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