In a major overhaul of its legal representation machinery, the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved a sweeping proposal to hike the retainership and appearance fees of state government advocates by up to 50 percent.
The decision, cleared during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, brings major relief to thousands of state lawyers across all judicial levels—from local district courts to the High Court and the Supreme Court of India. The pay revision, which ends an over decade-long freeze on fee structures, is projected to cost the state exchequer an additional ₹190 crore annually.
Announcing the decision, State Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna confirmed that the cabinet had approved the Justice Department’s proposal to restructure the long-pending remuneration framework.
Welcoming the decision on Friday, Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh Ajay Mishra thanked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, calling the move a critical step toward securing high-quality legal representation for the state.
“This decision is not merely about a revision of fees, but an important step towards making the judicial system more efficient, responsive, and result-oriented,” Mishra said in an official statement. He pointed out that the revision was severely overdue, noting that fees for district court advocates had remained unchanged for nearly 10 years, while remuneration at the Advocate General level had not been updated in approximately 14 years.
According to government counsels, the massive upgrade in retainership and per-hearing fees will boost morale and enable the state’s legal arguments to be presented with greater rigor, professionalism, and speed amidst an increasingly complex litigation landscape.
The Restructured Pay Scale
The revised compensation structure introduces substantial increases in both monthly retainerships and per-hearing/daily appearance fees:
1. District Court Level
- District Government Counsel (DGC): Monthly retainership increases from ₹9,000 to ₹14,000. The per-hearing fee rises from ₹1,650 to ₹2,500.
- Additional District Government Counsel (ADGC): Monthly retainership raised from ₹7,200 to ₹11,000; the per-hearing fee moves from ₹1,500 to ₹2,300.
- Note: Benefits also extend to assistant and deputy district government counsels, designated counsels, special counsels, and Amicus Curiae serving in district courts.
2. High Court & Supreme Court Representatives
- Advocate General (AG): Monthly retainership increased from ₹75,000 to ₹1.25 lakh. The per-hearing/argument fee rises from ₹40,000 to ₹60,000.
- Additional Advocate General (AAG): Monthly retainership increased from ₹30,000 to ₹50,000. Argument fees double from ₹20,000 to ₹40,000 per hearing.
- Chief Standing Counsel / Government Advocate: Monthly retainership raised from ₹22,000 to ₹35,000. Daily arguing fees increased from ₹7,000 to ₹12,000.
- Additional Chief Standing Counsel: Monthly retainership increased from ₹12,000 to ₹20,000. Daily arguing fees raised from ₹5,000 to ₹8,000.
- Standing Counsel: Monthly retainership raised from ₹9,000 to ₹15,000; per-hearing fees increased from ₹3,000 to ₹5,000.
3. Supreme Court Representation & Panel Advocates
- Advocate-on-Record (AoR): Monthly retainership raised from ₹18,000 to ₹30,000. Daily arguing fee increased from ₹10,000 to ₹15,000.
- Special Panel Advocate: Daily appearance/hearing fee increased from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000.
- Senior Panel Advocate: Daily appearance/hearing fee raised from ₹8,000 to ₹12,000.
- Junior Panel Advocate: Daily appearance/hearing fee raised from ₹5,000 to ₹7,500. (Panel advocates do not receive a monthly retainership).
