Kerala Bar Council challenges Kerala High Court interim order allowing law graduates to pay only ₹750 as enrolment fee

The Bar Council of Kerala (BCK) has challenged an interim order passed by a single judge of the Kerala High Court directing the BCK to provisionally accept enrollment applications by certain law graduates (petitioners) on the payment of the statutorily prescribed nominal fee of ₹750 and without levying any other additional fee. [The Bar Council of Kerala v Akshai M Sivan]..The single judge's order had come on a plea moved by ten law graduates of the 2019-22 batch from the Government Law College, Ernakulam challenging the fee of ₹15,900 that the BCK was charging. .In its appeal against the interim order, BCK has contended before a division bench that there is no statutory bar imposed on Council from levying the requisite charges to satisfy the conditions of enrolment from the candidates..“The power of the State Bar Council under Section 28 (2) (d) of the Advocates Act to impose conditions subject to which a person may be admitted as an Advocate on the roll is unquestionable and exercising of such powers by the State Bar Council will not in any manner interfere with or alter the ``Enrollment Fee" statutorily fixed under Section 24 (1) (f) of the Advocates Act,” the BCK contended..The BCK argued that the interim order was passed by placing reliance on the judgment of the Kerala High Court in Koshy T v Bar Council of Kerala and Another without evaluating the context in which the said judgment was delivered.“In the said case, the challenge was against the imposition of "special fees " on candidates seeking enrolment after retirement from service attaining the age of superannuation. The dictum laid down in the said decision restricting the powers of the State Bar Council in imposing "Special Fees" on retired employees seeking enrolment as advocates do not in any manner curtail the powers of the State Bar Council under Sub Section 28 (2) (d) of the Advocates Act, 1961 in imposing conditions subject to which a person may be admitted on the rolls as an Advocate,” the BCK explained. .The law entitles State Bar Councils to lay down eligibility conditions and necessary financial requirements to be satisfied by law graduates seeking enrolment, the BCK added. The BCK has submitted that such amounts cannot be treated as part of the "enrolment fee", which is ₹750 under the Advocates Act.Equating the amounts required for satisfying eligibility conditions with enrolment fee has created an unwanted impression that the State Bar Councils have exceeded their rule-making power and have altered the statutorily fixed enrolment fee of ₹ 750, the plea further submitted..The BCK further highlighted that it is constrained to collect charges for the services provided by it since it is an autonomous body that does not receive any outside income or grant in aid..“The funds required for discharging the statutory functions is to be generated by the Bar Council itself. The Appellant (BCK) is maintaining a fully functional office for discharging the statutory functions with total staff strength of 20. The average monthly expense incurred by the Appellant would come to Rs. 11 lakhs and out of which a sum of approximately Rs. 5.5 lakhs is spent on account of salary and allowances to staff ... AIl these expenses have to be borne by the Appellant from the fees collected from various applicants,” the appeal said..It was also pointed out that charges are being incurred by the BCK when it sends certificates submitted by law graduates seeking enrolment for the verification of such documents by various Universities. This is being done as per the instructions given by the Bar Council of India (BCI), the BCK informed. .“75% of the total income of the Appellant is from the amount collected from the candidates at the time of enrolment under various heads. Out of the Enrolment charges, 20% is to be transferred to the Bar Council of India and 20% to the Advocates Welfare Fund,” the BCK submitted further.The BCK is consequently left with the bare minimum amount to carry out the various duties and functions under the Act, the plea said.It has also opposed the petitioner law graduates' prayer to declare the collection of ₹3000 towards the BCI Welfare Fund as illegal. The Fund constitutes a social security scheme for lawyers in the State of Kerala and contribution to the same is mandatory, as per a notification issued under the BCI Rules, the BCK informed. The BCK added that the other heads of fees such as application form fee, registration fee, certificate fee, identity card fee, fee for photographs and a copy of the Advocates Act, have been prescribed by it in the exercise of the powers bestowed on the body as per the Advocates Act and Rules. The resolution adopting the current fee structure has been approved by the BCI as well, the plea submitted. .On these grounds, the BCK has now urged for setting aside the single judge order. Insisting on only collecting ₹750 as enrolment fees would virtually stall the enrolment process, the BCK added. .The BCK's appeal has been filed through advocate Pranoy K Kottaram..Kerala High Court grants interim relief to law graduates in plea against ₹15,900 enrolment fees collected by Kerala Bar Council.Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.