The Akhil Bhartiya Adhivakta Parishad (ABAP) an organisation of Nationalist Lawyers, has made a representation before the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking directions to banks to provide loan at concessional rate to mitigate the financial hardship faced by the legal fraternity due to COVID 19 Pandemic.
The organization has stated that due to the lockdown the Courts and Tribunals have not been functioning for the past seventy days and only urgent matters are being taken up by Virtual Courts. Since most of the advocates at taluka and District levels solely depend on their daily earnings, the lockdown has caused acute financial shortage for the advocates and their families.
The organization has also stated the instance of an advocate from Karnataka who recently committed suicide due to financial problems.
Moreover, since Virtual Courts are need of the hour, the Organsiation has stated that the advocates would require financial package for the modern electronic gadgets like desktop, laptop, tablet and broadband services to attend the virtual court proceedings. Further the Advocates are paying rents and salaries to their clerks, peons and juniors regularly.
Since, the Government has provided interest free loans to various classes of persons under section 13 of the Disaster management Act, 2005, the Organisation has urged the Finance Minister “to grant loan upto Rupees Five lacs on concessional rate of interest not more than the interest payable on saving bank accounts on personal security and guarantee supported by personal indemnity bond to Advocates to be repaid in three years commencing after moratorium of six months from its disbursal”.