The Bar Council of India (BCI) has submitted an application to the Supreme Court, requesting a directive for the Central government to amend the Advocates Act, 1961, to allow an increase in the enrolment fee for lawyers with the State Bar Councils
In July of last year, the Supreme Court ruled that State Bar Councils and the Bar Council of India (BCI) cannot charge enrolment fees beyond the limits prescribed by the Advocates Act. The court set a cap of ₹750 for general category candidates and ₹125 for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) candidates. This decision was prompted by concerns over the high enrolment fees imposed by several State Bar Councils, including those in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.
The BCI has since argued that the enrolment fee serves as a crucial source of revenue for Bar Councils, without which they would struggle to function. The BCI highlighted the financial challenges, including the inability to pay staff salaries and meet other obligations, if the fee cap is maintained. The plea further stated that restricting the fee to ₹600 would make the survival of both State Bar Councils and the BCI nearly impossible.
In light of this, the BCI has requested an amendment to the Advocates Act to allow for an increase in the enrolment fees. The BCI pointed out that the enrolment fee has not been revised since 1993, despite inflation over the past three decades. Citing the impact of inflation, the BCI estimated that a fee that cost ₹100 in 1960 would now cost around ₹50,000 today, based on the current inflation rate of 5.8% in 2023.
Previously, the BCI had approached the Central Government seeking an amendment to revise the enrolment fees. It proposed a new fee structure: ₹25,000 for general category candidates, with an additional ₹6,250 for the BCI Fund, and ₹10,000 for SC/ST candidates, along with a ₹2,500 fee for the BCI Fund. Furthermore, the BCI requested the flexibility to periodically adjust these fees in line with inflation, using the Reserve Bank of India’s inflation calculator as a reference.
