Interest-free loans for lawyers?
A plea for Rs.5 lakh as financial assistance reached Delhi High court on June 2, 2020, for advocates as interest-free loans have been enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi(BCD).
The plea stated that the prevailing pandemic has brought a rigorous financial crisis to middle and lower-class families. It stated that financial assistance is needed due to the closure of courts and a lot of the advocates are still waiting for cases. “Meeting basic needs such as school fee payment and paying off monthly instalments for credit card debts/loans has become tremendous, due to the contained closure of the courts including the high court for more than 1.5 years“the petition read.
Furthermore, the Bar Council of Delhi stated that the 3.5 crore funds for the redevelopment of the head office should be withdrawn and instead be used for their legal professionals.
“Redevelopment of the head office of respondent 3 is unnecessary when lawyers are suffering from this pandemic and this money should be utilized for them” the petition stated.
Numerous prayers were further mentioned in the petition such as to issue an appropriate writ, sanction Rs 5 lakh for 5 years to all the lawyers under interest-free loans enrolled with the Delhi Bar Council without any discrimination on the grounds of Voter Id or Address proof, and to protect young solicitors from this exceptional pandemic for day-to-day expenses.
