Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud was hearing a petition on Bar Council fees (File)
New Delhi:
How much did Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud pay his client when he fought his first case in the Bombay High Court as a legal professional after completing his law school?
60 rupees.
Chief Justice Chandrachud said this on Monday while hearing the case of charging “high fees” for enrollment in Bar Council in various states.
In 1986, Chief Justice Chandrachud returned from Harvard and started practicing law in the Bombay High Court. That year, his first case was before Justice Sujata Manohar for urgent hearing. He got a fee of Rs 60 for this work.
At that time, lawyers generally asked for fees not in Indian rupees, but in gold ‘mohars’, as was done during the colonial days.
The case briefing files given to lawyers on behalf of their clients include a green docket with the word “GM” (gold stamp) written on it instead of a rupee. There lawyers used to write their fees in “GM”.
The price of one gold mohar at that time was approximately Rs 15. A young Chief Justice Chandrachud wrote “4 GM” on the docket and received a fee of Rs 60.
Sources said that this practice was prevalent in the Bombay High Court till 25 years ago. The price of one GM in Calcutta High Court was Rs 16.
The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its verdict on petitions challenging the exorbitant enrollment fees charged by bar councils in various states. Justice JB Pardiwala was also included in the bench.
During the hearing, the bench questioned whether the Bar Council can charge more than the amount mentioned in the Advocates Act, 1961, which says Rs 600 for State Bar Councils and Rs 150 for the Bar Council of India.
The bench said that there is no uniformity in the fees charged by the State Bar Council. In some states like Kerala, Maharashtra and Delhi it is in the range of Rs 15,000, while in others like Odisha it is Rs 41,000.
The bench said that the legal question is whether the Bar Council can charge more than the amount mentioned in the law.
Chief Justice Chandrachud said, “It is the job of Parliament to increase the enrollment fee. The issue you have raised on various expenses for running the State Bar Council is valid. But the law is very clear. You cannot charge more than Rs 600.” “
In July 2023, the Supreme Court had transferred to itself the petitions pending in high courts on this issue.
Last year, the Kerala High Court had directed the Bar Council of Kerala to charge only Rs 750 as enrollment fee from law graduates seeking enrolment, until the Bar Council of India considers a uniform fee structure.
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