Plea filed in SC seeking financial aid to kin of advocates who died before 60 years of age

A petition has been filed by the lawyer Pradeep Kumar Yadav, before the Supreme Court seeking its direction to the respondents including the Union of India (UOI) and others to pay an ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh to the kith and kin of advocates, who had died before the age of 60 whether by COVID-19 or any other disease.

The plea sought appropriate orders and directions from the top court to the UOI and other respondents that in case of a pandemic, additional monetary help be provided to lawyers because advocates have no other source of income other than their practice and their children depend upon them.

The petitioner Yadav had made the UOI, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Ministry of Law and Justice, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Bar Council of India (BCI), Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) and other Bar Bodies of many states as respondents in his petition filed before the Supreme Court.

Yadav, in his petition, mentioned that when all courts are not working, then the very survival of lawyers and their staff are going to be severely affected.

The plea said the lawyers families will have to bear the cost, in case of financial hardships and they are not able to get their basic needs and in this regard, they have no option to choose other professions for survival.

Yadav further said that since the last one-year judicial system had been semi-paralyzed, therefore only those advocates who have good infrastructure and well-established paraphernalia are managing their professions and other small-time advocates and their staff are only witnessing the drama, which has been created by the society.

Even the police personnel and other Government staff, who are in direct touch with the general public, are doing their work on their whims and fancies, which showed that they are playing mockery with the system.

"The judicial system is not open for the general public, therefore, they are not in a position to make any complaint against the corrupt system and it is also very important that general public is also not in power to approach the well-established lawyers because they are charging too much high consultation charges and professional charges," Yadav, said, in his petition filed before the Apex Court.

Yadav said that now the judicial system is open only for those people who are gaining too much money and are in a position to dominate the present situation.

"Our Constitution protects all the people of our country, especially Article 14 of the Constitution of India, said, the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth," Yadav said in his petition filed before the Supreme Court.

When many schools, colleges, other departments are working online, then why injustice is being done to practising lawyers and to new lawyers in the national capital who are dependent on fresh filings and hearings for their income, as they are severely hit by second COVID-19 which is followed by lockdown in National Capital Territory of Delhi and also in other States, the plea said.

"The practising advocates do not demand any kind of financial help from the Bar or any other authority, but our demand is that the Courts should function through Video Conferencing and maximum matters be listed irrespective of any urgency," he said in his petition.

The legal profession is only source of bread and butter for the advocates and they cannot go into other profession. If the courts work in full swing, the advocates will able to generate their livelihood without any help, whatsoever and if the restrictions are imposed such as urgent hearing, then it is very difficult to survive, Yadav emphasised.

"The legal fraternity is facing a great difficulty due to the present second curfew or lockdown. The government is providing all sorts of help to various communities of the society and also providing financial aid to the other members of the society, except the legal fraternity. On the other hand, we are the legal practitioner, who do not have anything to peddle, except our legal advice to their clients and other legal activities to assist the Court for legal remedies. Therefore, their survival is going at a crucial stage and survival of the other dependents on him is also going at crucial stage," reads Yadav's petition.

( With inputs from ANI )