The Bar Council of India (BCI) has filed an application with the Supreme Court, seeking a direction for the Central government to amend the Advocates Act, 1961, in order to raise the enrolment fees for lawyers registering with State Bar Councils.
The Supreme Court had previously ruled in July 2023 that the enrolment fees charged by the State Bar Councils and the BCI could not exceed the limits established by the Advocates Act. The judgment restricted Bar Councils to charging ₹750 for general category candidates and ₹125 for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes candidates for enrolment.
This ruling followed a case in which concerns were raised regarding the high enrolment fees set by Bar Councils in states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.
The BCI’s application emphasized that enrolment fees are essential for the financial viability of the Bar Councils, as they form a significant portion of their revenue. Without these fees, the functioning of the Bar Councils would be severely hindered, making it difficult to cover staff salaries and other operational costs.
The BCI warned that maintaining the current fee structure would lead to the “death” of Bar Councils, stating that their continued existence would be virtually impossible without the ability to charge higher fees. The plea further highlighted that the statutory enrolment fee has not been revised since 1993, despite the surge in inflation over the past three decades.
The BCI’s plea also provided an illustration of the inflationary impact, citing that an item that cost ₹100 in 1960 would cost approximately ₹7,805 in 2022, based on inflation trends. With this in mind, the BCI argued that the current enrolment fee, when adjusted for inflation, should be about ₹50,000.
In a prior communication with the Central government, the BCI requested that the enrolment fee for general category candidates be increased to ₹25,000, with ₹6,250 allocated for the Bar Council of India fund. For SC/ST candidates, the BCI suggested a fee of ₹10,000 for the State Bar Council and ₹2,500 for the BCI fund.
The BCI also requested the flexibility to revise these fees periodically, factoring in future inflation, by utilizing the inflation calculator of the Reserve Bank of India.
This application underscores the financial challenges faced by the legal regulatory bodies and advocates for the reform of the enrolment fee structure to ensure the long-term sustainability of Bar Councils across India.
