Jharkhand Bar Council and Advocate General Lock Horns over Court Fee Hike Issue

The Jharkhand State Bar Council and the office of the Advocate General are divided over court fees hike issue.  Bar Council of Jharkhand called for protest against the hike But the Advocate General said that he will not support the strike.

The strike has been called to protest against the hike in the court fees made by the state government after they passed the Court fees Amendment Bill in the Jharkhand Assembly in 2022.

 On one hand, the State Bar Council called for agitation and requested its members to refrain from judicial work on January 6 and 7. While on the other hand, the office of the Advocate General termed the strike as illegal.

The Advocate General, Rajiv Ranjan wrote a letter to the Chief Justice in the matter and said, “I am not agree with this. No lawyer of Bar Association can give a strike notice. This is illegal and contemptuous. Hence, I would say all lawyers associated with Advocate General’s office will perform their judicial work.”

Nevertheless, the Bar Council was adamant in its demand for strike. “We have passed a resolution that from tomorrow we will be agitating against the exorbitant enhancement of court fees and other issues. During this agitation, we will not be in a position to discharge our duties in court. Therefore, we will not work from tomorrow,” stated Rajendra Krishna, the president of Jharkhand State Bar Council.

---