ADVOCATE PROTECTION ACT, SOCIAL SECURITY, AND PENSION AFTER 60: THE BURNING DEMANDS AND SYSTEMIC STRUGGLES OF THE INDIAN LEGAL FRATERNITY

 

ADVOCATE PROTECTION ACT, SOCIAL SECURITY, AND PENSION AFTER 60: THE BURNING DEMANDS AND SYSTEMIC STRUGGLES OF THE INDIAN LEGAL FRATERNITY

The role of an advocate is fundamental in strengthening the foundation of the Indian justice system. Within the framework of the constitution and law, every registered advocate holds the status of a court officer, equivalent to the rank of a gazetted officer. However, it is unfortunate that Indian lawyers have been consistently ignored and neglected ever since independence. Today, the economic condition of numerous lawyers across the country is deteriorating day by day, forcing them to live a cursed and struggling life.

Whenever a person faces hard times and finds no solace even in God, it is an advocate who emerges as the biggest support for the common man. When governments and the system neglect the very lawyers who stand by your during your most difficult moments, what message are they trying to convey? Today, millions of cases are pending across various courts in the country, and advocates are deliberately avoiding a nation-wide strike precisely because it would paralyze all legal work and bring the entire country to a standstill. On behalf of all advocate fraternity members, our earnest prayer to both the central and state governments is to immediately pass a comprehensive bill in the interest of lawyers, fulfilling all the aforementioned demands without any pretexts or delays. Otherwise, when the dam of patience finally breaks and a nationwide strike ensues, the country will be pushed back by 20 years, for which solely the central government, state governments, and their bureaucrats will be responsible.

Every year, thousands of young lawyer’s graduates in law, register with the Bar Council, and enter this profession. Yet, they are forced to struggle continuously under senior advocates for the first 8 to 10 years, often facing exploitation. Despite this prolonged struggle and hard work, thousands of young advocates today fail to secure a fixed monthly income of even 20,000 rupees. The current reality is that young lawyers are compelled to sit outside courts on streets under umbrellas or makeshift setups with basic plastic chairs, braving the scorching sun and heavy rain. Shouldn’t providing an assured chamber to every registered advocate from the very beginning be the responsibility of the government and judicial system? Governments possess multi-billion-rupee budgets for various free schemes to maintain their vote banks, but not a single welfare scheme has ever been crafted for the advocates who defend the nation’s law and constitution.

Despite prolonged agitations and demands spanning several years, the governments and the Bar Council of India (BCI) continue to sit complacently on this severe issue. An unwanted distance is intentionally maintained by both central and state governments towards advocates, where demands go unheard and unattended. What justification is there for denying these basic facilities even after 10 years of ongoing protests? Therefore, the time has come for Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Bar Council of India to fully intervene and immediately pass a stringent and comprehensive Advocate Protection Act in Parliament. Special programs must be formulated under this act for the security and economic upliftment of lawyers.

Under this essential new legislation, the following core demands must be enacted immediately:

• Until new lawyers establish themselves in the profession—for a minimum duration of the first 10 years—a financial support salary of 10,000 rupees per month should be directly credited to their bank accounts.
• A cashless medical claim of up to 10 lakh rupees must be immediately accepted and made applicable to all registered advocates across the nation, ensuring financial support for families during medical emergencies.
• Every advocate aged 60 and above must be provided a dignified monthly pension of 25,000 rupees until death, and following their demise, half of this amount (half-pension) must be extended to their surviving spouse.
• No advocate should be subjected to direct arrest by the Police, CBI, ED, or any investigative agency without prior formal permission obtained from the Bar Association Chairman, District Magistrate (DM), Superintendent of Police (SP), and the Home Ministry.
• If any urgent information is required from an advocate, summoning them to a police station must be strictly prohibited. Police authorities must visit the advocate’s chamber to coordinate and gather information.
• It is frequently observed that police personnel misbehave with lawyers inside police stations, particularly targeting those who are mild-mannered. This arbitrariness and misconduct must be curbed immediately with strict penal actions.

If we genuinely desire a clean, impartial, and robust judicial system, ensuring the financial security and dignity of advocates is non-negotiable. The systemic neglect of this professional class since independence can no longer be tolerated. The government must take positive steps without further delay by addressing all these vital demands.

Article by

Aashutosh Tripathi (Aakesh Aainon)

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