Delhi HC extends insurance benefit to lawyers residing in NCR

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The Delhi High Court has held that the benefit of the Chief Minister’s Advocates’ Welfare Scheme shall extend to all advocates registered with the Bar Council of Delhi, irrespective of whether they are registered as a voter in the national capital. Justice Prathiba M Singh said primacy is to be given to the place of practice of a lawyer and not the place of residence, and that not all can afford to live in the national capital even if they practice here.

The court also recognised that lawyers residing in NCR but practising in Delhi play a role in the dispensation of justice here. It also noted that the CM’s scheme recognised the role of advocates in society and in the legal profession. The annual deficit in the budget allocated by the Delhi government shall be contributed by the Bar Council of Delhi, the court clarified.

The court was dealing with petitions seeking a direction to extend the benefit of the scheme to all those enrolled with the BCD, whether their names appear on the voters’ list of the national capital or not. Advocate Govind Swaroop Chaturvedi, one of the petitioners, said he is enrolled with the BCD, has the membership of the Delhi High Court Bar Association, practises in the courts here, but does not reside in the national capital now and claimed that the notification is discriminatory, illegal and unreasonable. The pleas said that the discrimination on the basis of names on the voters’ list in Delhi is not based on any reasonableness.

The pleas have sought to quash or modify the government’s March 17 notification to the extent of deleting the eligibility condition on the basis of names on the voters’ list of Delhi, for extending the welfare benefits In October last year, the court had asked the Delhi government to purchase before November 30, insurance policies from the LIC and New India Assurance Company (NIAC) for around 29,000 Delhi lawyers under the Scheme.

“In view of the above figures having now been finalised with the companies, the Delhi Government shall now proceed to purchase the insurance policies from LIC for 28,744 members and from NIAC for 29,077 lawyers who are members of the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD), whose names already stand verified. The purchase of the policies shall be effected on or before November 30,” the court said. The total budgetary allocation in the scheme is Rs 50 crore.