Jahanvi Agarwal
The Jharkhand Government has taken a significant step towards the welfare of its legal community by approving a comprehensive benefits package for lawyers, which includes provisions for insurance, stipends, and pensions. In a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, several key decisions were made that aim to provide financial support to the 30,000 advocates practicing in the state.
One of the primary measures introduced is a medical insurance cover of Rs.5 lakh for all lawyers practicing in Jharkhand. Additionally, the bill provides a monthly pension of Rs.14,000 to retired advocates and a stipend of Rs.5,000 per month for new lawyers during their first five years of practice. The initiative was initially proposed by the Advocate General of Jharkhand, Rajiv Rajan, who emphasized the need to support legal professionals, especially in their formative years of practice.
This is not the first instance of a state government taking steps to support junior lawyers. In 2023, Kerala introduced a stipend scheme that provides Rs.3,000 per month to young advocates under 30 years old, with less than three years of practice, and earning an annual income below Rs.1 lakh. Similarly, earlier this year, the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry issued a circular mandating a minimum stipend of Rs.20,000 for junior advocates employed in major cities like Chennai, Madurai, and Coimbatore. The directive followed a Madras High Court order aimed at ensuring that junior lawyers are adequately compensated.
The trend towards providing financial support to junior lawyers has also been witnessed in Delhi, where the High Court directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to resolve a representation concerning the payment of a minimum stipend to junior lawyers within six weeks. Furthermore, the BCI has urged the Central government to introduce a national medical or health insurance scheme for advocates and their families.
The welfare of legal professionals continues to gain attention across various states. Earlier this year, a public interest litigation petition was filed in the Allahabad High Court, seeking a comprehensive health insurance policy for lawyers registered with the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh, reflecting a broader demand for improved support mechanisms for legal practitioners across the country.