HC seeks response from Delhi Bar Council on ex-gratia payments

The Delhi High Court today sought response from Bar Council of Delhi on a PIL filed by a lawyer seeking regulation of payment of ex-gratia amount to the members of Advocates' Welfare Fund.
"Issue notice to the respondents. Put up for further hearing on April 6," a bench comprising Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said.
The bench was hearing a PIL filed by a practicing lawyer Ashesh Lal who alleged that Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) and Bar Council of India (BCI) were not following a uniform policy with respect to disbursal of ex-gratia payments to the members of the Advocates' Welfare Fund.

He alleged that BCD and BCI were releasing the financial aid to the members in an arbitrary and unlawful manner without following any uniform policy and does not even have a remote nexus with the object sought under the Advocates' Welfare Act, 2001.
The PIL filed through advocate Sanjeev Kumar said BCD is a statutory body constituted under the Advocates' Act, 1961 and for the welfare fund it has been collecting funds from the advocates by selling advocates welfare stamps and also through membership fees levied under Advocates' Welfare Fund.
It said that the trustee committee constituted by DCB on an application made to it by a member of the fund, may allow ex-gratia grant to such member from the fund for exigencies like hospitalisation or if he is suffering from tuberculosis, leprosy, paralysis, cancer, unsoundness of mind or from such other serious disease or disability.

The petitioner claimed that on a RTI reply he found that the BCD has been adopting "arbitrary practice in releasing funds to the members/applicants in distress and the disbursal of funds in similar/identical cases of infirmity disease and even in death is not uniformly/equitably followed."

He claimed that in death cases the financial help granted ranges from Rs 75,000 to Rs 2 lakh while in cases of Cancer, the payment released ranged from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh.
The PIL said in case of heart surgery, the amount varies from Rs 90,000 to Rs 3.5 lakh while in the case of kidney transplant, the amount varies from Rs 1.94 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.

"That the petitioner was shocked and surprised to see the manner in which the Respondents are spending the hard earned money of the members of the Advocates' Welfare Fund. The Respondents are releasing ex-gratia payment in a manner which is not only arbitrary but discriminatory also," it said.