The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday issued notices to the Bar Council of India and its Uttarakhand unit on a petition seeking rollback of a hike in the fee charged for filing a complaint against an advocate.
The Bar Council of Uttarakhand raised the fee for a “complaint against an advocate” to Rs 5,500.
Depositing the amount to the Bar Council of India is a prerequisite for any disciplinary enquiry to be initiated against a lawyer.
The notices were issued by Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal of the high court on a petition challenging the legality of the manifold hike on the grounds that it was prohibitory in nature and against public interest.
The high court will hear the matter again on June 13, the petitioner’s counsel Kartikey Hari Gupta said.
“We have pleaded before the court that the Bar Council of India Rules charge a maximum of only Rs 450 as fee to file a complaint against an advocate,” Gupta said.
“The Bar Council of Uttarakhand has passed an illegal resolution and raised this amount to Rs 5,500. Because of such high fee, even genuine complainants are not able to file a compliant against an advocate’s misconduct.
“Such high fees are prohibitory in nature and should be quashed. We have further prayed that the Bar Council of Uttarakhand may be directed to accept complaint against an advocate only for with Rs 450 as fees. The Bar Council of Uttarakhand has mentioned in its decision that the fee hike is being done to stop frivolous complaints.
“We have pleaded before the court that such a decision is against public interest as the Bar Council of Uttarakhand cannot pre-judge a complaint even before it is filed,” the counsel for the petitioner said.
