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Delay in advocate : Allahabad HC asks UP government to revise stagnant ₹5 lakh scheme
A Widow's Decade-Long Wait Exposes a ₹330 Crore Welfare Gap
The has issued a strong to the , asking it to revise the ₹5 lakh paid to dependents of deceased advocates under the . The Division Bench of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Garima Prashad made the observation while hearing a petition by Jyotima, a widow who sought for her advocate husband's death.
The court noted that despite the scheme's swelling from ₹20 crore to a staggering ₹330 crore, the amount has remained frozen at ₹5 lakh since . More than a decade of inflation and growing fund reserves, the Bench remarked, made the stagnation "not a happy situation."
Two Schemes, One Bottleneck: The Processing Paradox
The court delved into two welfare schemes for advocates: the (under ) and the (via Government Order dated ). While the first scheme—with a of ₹160 crore—pays out to registered members based on contributions, the second scheme releases ₹5 lakh directly to dependents.
But
have plagued the latter. The court was informed that out of 1,207 pending applications, 436 were taken up, and only 268 were cleared in an
meeting. The rest were returned to the
for
. The Bench expressed sharp displeasure:
"We fail to understand as to why the Bar Council sends to
such applications with insufficient details."
' Alone Won't Suffice': Court Orders to Act
A critical financial observation emerged during the hearing. The
had been using only the
earned on the
—about ₹5.64 crore per quarter (₹22.4 crore annually)—to pay claims. At this rate, only 440 applications can be cleared per year. With 939 still pending, the court noted that
"all the 939 pending applications may not be disposed of even if forwarded by the Bar Council."
Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Garima Prashad did not mince words:
"In the circumstances, therefore, the
will have to utilise the
amount which is lying there with it or may demand further financial assistance from the State as one time to maintain the
as it is."
The
was directed to seek additional funds from the state within 30 days or, failing that, liquidate
to compensate families without further delay.
A Call for Concrete Action: October 5 Deadline
The court left the
to the government's wisdom but demanded an
by the next hearing on
.
"If a proper
in this regard is not filed by the next date fixed, this Court will be compelled to take a serious view of the matter,"
warned the Bench.
The was also asked to file an detailing future guidelines for expeditious forwarding of applications.
The Law Secretary, Sri Uday Pratap Singh—a member of the and Secretary of the —was present in court and provided detailed explanations. The court appreciated his assistance but made it clear that is needed, not just explanations.
What This Means for Advocates' Families
For families like Jyotima's, who applied in but saw only in , the judgment signals hope for faster and fairer processing. The direction to use the —rather than just —could clear the backlog rapidly. And the push to revise the ₹5 lakh amount may finally bring relief in line with inflation and the growing welfare fund.
As the court noted,
"More than 10 years have passed since then [
]. The
... has swollen to ₹330 Crore, but the
amount has remained static at ₹5 Lakh."
With the October deadline, the ball is now firmly in the government's court.
