Kerala Bar Council notifies Kerala Advocates’ Welfare Fund Act 1980; Junior Lawyers now eligible for Monthly Stipend of Rs. 5000

The Kerala Bar Council has notified the Kerala Advocates’ Welfare Fund Act, 1980, under which the trustee committee decides the monthly stipend payable to junior lawyers not exceeding Rs.5000.

The maximum duration for which a stipend may be provided is three years of real practise from the date the Advocate passes the All India Bar Examination or until the Advocate reaches the age of thirty years, whichever comes first.

An applicant who is eligible for stipend under the Act and these rules must submit an application for stipend in Form I, along with the documents to support their eligibility, subject to the following conditions: the applicant must be a member of the Fund and not be in default of annual subscription to the Fund under sub-section (5) of Section 15 of the Act.

The applicant has applied for Certificate of Practice as of the date of application for stipend in Form I; the applicant’s annual income does not exceed rupees one lakh at the time of application; and the applicant shall, along with the application, submit an annual income certificate issued by the competent Revenue/Tax Authority, certifying that the applicant’s annual income is less than rupees one lakh during the fiscal year immediately preceding the date of application.

The applicant has not exceeded the age of thirty years and the applicant shall, along with the application, submit a copy of the birth certificate of the applicant; the applicant is neither substantially or full time pursuing any course of study nor earning substantial income from any source other than from the legal profession or part time teaching in law; the applicant, along with the application, shall submit, a certificate issued in Form II by the presiding officer of the Court or Tribunal where the applicant is practicing certifying that the applicant is in actual practice at the time of making the application for stipend along with a certificate issued by the President or Secretary of the Bar Association of which the applicant is a member in Form III showing that the applicant is in less than three years actual practice at the Bar at the time of making the application for stipend.

An application for stipend shall be forwarded through and recommended by the Bar Association, of which the applicant is a member; an applicant, for the eligibility under these rules shall submit a sworn declaration in Form IV as to the correctness of the particulars furnished in the application in Form I and to the effect that the applicant shall assist the Legal Services Committee constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987,(Central Act 39 of 1987), which is attached to the Court in which the applicant is in actual practice and shall attend whatever the number of cases are allotted to and also undertake to attend, in a year at least two courses of the Refresher Courses, Seminars, Continuing Legal Education Programmes, Professional Development Courses or Workshops conducted by the Bar Council of Kerala.