HC order on financial aid to lawyers

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Friday directed the Odisha State Bar Council (OSBC) to review its decision to provide financial assistance to needy advocates having less than 10 years of practice in view of the unprecedented situation of lockdown.

The Court issued the order on a PIL petitioner’s memo (fresh plea) seeking direction to the OSBC to extend financial assistance to lawyers having 15 years of practice.

In the order, the division bench of Justice CR Dash and Justice Biswanath Rath said, “We hope and trust that the Bar Council of Odisha shall examine the memo of the petitioner with a practical outlook and shall take into consideration the appeal made by the petitioner.”

“The State Bar Council shall complete the entire exercise within two weeks,” the Court ordered.
“We also hope that the State Government in appropriate department shall also take a decision to have financial assistance to make the scheme introduced by the Bar Council including the consideration of remaining advocates who have put up 15 years of practice viable,” the bench further said.

On Wednesday, the OSBC had decided to provide final assistance to the lawyers from the Odisha State Bar Council Advocates’ Welfare Corpus Fund on submission of applications through respective bar associations.

City-based lawyer Dillip Kumar Ray had filed the PIL through e-mail on March 30 and the Court had fixed April 3 to consider the petition seeking direction for grant of ex gratia to lawyers during the lockdown.