The High Court of Uttarakhand has directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the Bar Council of Uttarakhand to file their response within one week on a petition challenging the hike in fees for filing complaints before the State Bar Council against lawyers.
The Bench of Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal passed the order on Monday on a petition, which alleged that the Bar Council of Uttarakhand had raised the fees for filing complaint against an Advocate to Rs 5,500 and only after payment, can the concerned complaint be considered for disciplinary enquiry against the lawyer concerned.
Advocate Kartikey Hari Gupta, representing the petitioner, argued that as per the Bar Council of India Rules, only a maximum of Rs 450 could be levied to lodge a complaint for disciplinary action against an advocate.
Terming the Bar Council of Uttarakhand’s decision to fix the amount at Rs 5,5000 as illegal, the petitioner contended that because of such high fees, even genuine complainants were not able to initiate a complaint against a lawyer’s misconduct.
The Bench posted the matter for next hearing on June 13.
(Case title: Satya Devi Tyagi vs State)