State bar council stops enrolment of legal aspirants

Cuttack: The Odisha State Bar Council (OSBC) on Tuesday stopped enrolment of legal aspirants wanting to be an advocate in the state. In a notice, secretary, OSBC, J K Samantasinghar said, “In view of the judgment of Supreme Court of India in the matter of Gaurav Kumar vs Union of India and others, the enrolment process and sale of forms for enrolment is stopped with immediate effect till necessary decision is taken by the council in this regard.”The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that state bar councils across the country cannot charge enrolment fees beyond the legal stipulation in the Advocates Act of 1961.Section 24 of the Advocates Act stipulates that a lawyer registering as an advocate is to pay an enrolment fee of Rs 750 (General category) and Rs 125 (SC & ST category) along with stamp duty payable to the State Bar Council and Bar Council of India.One of the primary contentions raised before the Supreme Court was that charging such exorbitant fees effectively denies the facility of enrolment to young aspiring lawyers who do not have the resources. It was further presented before the apex court that there is a huge difference in the amounts charged by different state bar councils. For instance, the enrolment fees in Odisha is Rs 42,100 and Rs 25,000 in Gujarat.

Relief for law grads as Supreme Court caps fees for advocate enrolment

The Supreme Court ruled that Bar Councils cannot charge more than Rs 700 for lawyers' registration, citing it violates the right to dignity and equal participation. This decision followed a PIL highlighting current fees, with some states demanding up to Rs 42,000. The Court stressed adherence to Section 24 of the Advocates Act in fee structure.

PUs self-financed coursesface enrolment challenges

Patna University has faced a significant drop in applications for its self-financed job-oriented courses introduced since 2007-08. Except some courses like LLB, LLM, computer applications, and library science, many have failed to attract students. Reasons include the absence of full-time faculty, lack of placement cells, and inadequate resources like libraries and laboratories.

President Murmu to launch book on Maharashtra Legislative Council

President Droupadi Murmu launched the book "Necessity and Importance of Upper House" at the Maharashtra Legislative Council centenary event. Select members received awards for Outstanding Parliamentarian and Outstanding Speech. The book series includes topics like important bills and policies. The Council's first meeting was held in 1921, and Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar was its first Indian Speaker.