CUTTACK: The Odisha State Bar Council has passed a resolution requesting the State Government to extend financial assistance to needy advocates who have been finding it difficult to eke out living due to the pandemic. The Council requested the Government to provide necessary assistance to the Odisha State Bar Council Advocates’ Welfare Corpus Fund, informed Bar Council secretary JK Samantasinghar in a release here on Monday.
As per the resolution, 15,000 lawyers - about 40 pc of the practising lawyers in the State - have applied to the State Bar C o u n c i l fo r f i n a n c i a l assistance. “Both State and Centre have to ensure survival of needy lawyers. With Covid situation in the State worsening on a daily basis, no one can see foresee how long the situation would continue”, the resolution read. States like Karnataka, Delhi, Telengana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharastra have sanctioned financial assistance for needy lawyers during this time of crisis. “It is pertinent to mention that the Andhra Pradesh Government has earmarked Rs 100 crore assistance for advocates and released Rs 25 crore on July 8 to the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh”, the resolution passed on July 10 said.
The State Bar Council had formulated the Odisha State Bar Council Emergency Financial Assistance Rules, 2020 to provide financial assistance to lawyers having less than 10 years of practice in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Bar Council of India approved the new Rules on April 5 which mandate financial assistance not exceeding Rs 10,000 to the needy lawyers in financial or social stress. Later, the Council invited applications from needy lawyers from across the State. On June 9, a lawyer sold vegetables outside the Orissa High Court protesting delay on the part of the Council in providing financial assistance even after applications were filed two months back.