Jharkhand HC Seeks Reply From Centre, BCI & State Bar Council On Plea Seeking Life Insurance For Lawyers

The Jharkhand High Court recently issued notice to the Central Government, the State Government, the Bar Council of India, and the Bar Council of Jharkhand in a plea seeking life insurance and medical insurance for lawyers and their relatives.

A bench consisting of Justices Sanjay Kumar Mishra and Ananda Sen ordered that the response be filed within four weeks.

“Let counter-affidavits be filed within four weeks’ time by the Union of India, the State of Jharkhand, the Bar Council of India, and the Jharkhand State Bar Council,” the order stated.

The petition filed by advocate Bidesh Kumar Dan stated that the livelihood of advocates has been seriously impacted due to the spread of Covid-19 and the non-functioning/partial functioning of courts since March 2020, and it is the responsibility of the authorities to assist them during this period of crisis.

The plea stated that advocates could not conduct any other work since they are banned by law from doing so.

“Sections 6 and 7 of The Advocates Act, 1961 impose a duty on BCI and JSBC to provide financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for the indigent, disabled, or other advocates, but due to the large number of needy advocates, the JSBC and BCI could not help them monetarily, and they require government aid and support to do so,” the petition stated.

As a result, the petitioner requested that the Ministry of Law and Justice and the Government of Jharkhand provide immediate financial assistance to the Jharkhand State Bar Council in order for it to support all needy, regular practitioner advocates in the state.

The petition sought the following remedies:

1. Direction to provide medical insurance coverage to Jharkhand advocates and their dependents.
2. Direction to expand the coverage of the Ayushman Bharat Health Insurance Scheme to include advocates and their dependent family members.
3. Direction to provide life insurance to Jharkhand lawyers.

The matter will be discussed again on June 26, 2023.