The main legal point established in the judgment is the obligation of every member of the Fund to affix one stamp on every vakalath filed by them under the Kerala Advocates' Welfare Fund Act, emphasizing the welfare objectives of the Act and the importance of revenue sources for the Advocates' Welfare Fund.

Headnote:
Welfare Fund Stamp - Kerala Advocates' Welfare Fund Act - S.15, S.22, S.23 - The court discussed the obligation of every member of the Fund to affix one stamp on every vakalath filed by him under S.23 of the Kerala Advocates' Welfare Fund Act. The interpretation emphasized the requirement for every member to affix a stamp for each vakalath filed, consistent with the objective of the enactment to provide social welfare to the legal profession. The court highlighted the importance of revenue sources for the Advocates' Welfare Fund and the need to interpret the provisions in line with the welfare objectives of the Act.
Fact of the Case:

The Criminal Revision Petition was not numbered by the High Court office due to doubts regarding the sufficiency of stamps on the Vakalath of the Advocates accompanying the Revision Memorandum under the Kerala Advocates' Welfare Fund Act. The question raised concerned the construction of S.23(1) of the Act, which required every member of the Fund to affix one stamp on every vakalath filed by him.
Finding of the Court:

The court held that each Advocate appearing in the case had to affix one Welfare Fund Stamp to the vakalath, requiring four more Welfare Fund Stamps to be supplied in order to entertain the Revision Petition.
Issues: The main issue concerned the interpretation of S.23(1) of the Kerala Advocates' Welfare Fund Act and the obligation of every member of the Fund to affix stamps on vakalaths filed by them.
Ratio Decidendi: The court's decision was based on the interpretation of the Act, emphasizing the obligation of every member to affix a stamp for each vakalath filed, in line with the welfare objectives of the Act and the importance of revenue sources for the Advocates' Welfare Fund.
Final Decision: The court held that each Advocate appearing in the case had to affix one Welfare Fund Stamp to the vakalath, requiring four more Welfare Fund Stamps to be supplied in order to entertain the Revision Petition.

Judgement Key Points

The Kerala Advocates' Welfare Fund Act establishes a fund to provide social welfare benefits to advocates, including retirement benefits after five years of practice, funded by various sources such as enrolment fees, subscriptions, donations, grants, and notably, revenue from the sale of Welfare Fund Stamps. (!) (!) (!) Section 23(1) mandates that every member of the Fund must affix one such stamp (valued at Rs. 2/-) on every vakalath filed by them, and no court, tribunal, or authority may receive an unstamped vakalath from a member. (!) (!) (!) This requirement applies even to joint vakalaths signed by multiple advocates, as each signing advocate who is a member is considered to be filing their own vakalath, necessitating a separate stamp per member. (!) (!) (!) (!) The stamp value cannot be recovered as costs from the client, and violations may lead to loss of Fund benefits and Bar Council action. (!) Courts may accept unstamped vakalaths from non-members if accompanied by a declaration to that effect. (!) This stamp obligation supports the Act's welfare goals by augmenting Fund revenue, which should be interpreted liberally rather than restrictively as in fiscal statutes. (!) In the scenario presented, where five advocates filed a joint vakalath with only one stamp and no non-membership declarations, four additional stamps were required to proceed. (!) (!) A vakalath authorizes advocates to act under procedural rules (e.g., CPC Order III Rule 4), remains effective until revoked or terminated, and must be filed for each advocate to appear. (!) (!) (!) (!)

Judgment :-

1. The Criminal Revision Petition has not been numbered by the office of the High Court since the office felt a doubt whether the Vakalath of the Advocates accompanying the Revision Memorandum could be received in court for want of sufficient stamps required to be affixed under the provisions of the Kerala Advocates' Welfare Fund Act. A question of some importance on the point of revenue that may go to enrich the Advocates' Welfare Fund arises here. The State of Kerala can claim the credit of introducing for the first time in India an enactment to extend a substantial measure of social welfare to the members of the legal profession. The Act came into force on 5th April, 1981 The Government is obliged, under the provisions of the Act, to constitute a fund called the 'Advocates' Welfare Fund" to which amounts received from the Bar Council equal to 20 per cent of the enrolment fees realised by it is credited. Other contributions by the Bar Council of the State or voluntary donation or contribution made by the Bar Council of India, any Bar Association, any other association or institution, any advocate or any other person, besides any grant made by the State Government, would go to enrich the Welfare Fund There are several other items which augment the revenues of the fund. One which calls for mention here is that contemplated under S.3(2)(k), namely, "all sums collected under S.15 by way of application fees and annual subscriptions and interest thereon," S.15 enables every Advocate practising in any court in the State, if he is a member of a Bar Association recognised by the Bar Council, to apply to the Trustee Committee for admission as a member of the Fund, in such form as may be prescribed and on application he has to pay Rs. 200/-in the course of one year in four equal instalments and besides this he has to pay an annual subscription that being Rs 50/-if he he an advocate whose standing is 5 years or more but less than 15 years, and Rs. 100/- if he be an advocate with a standing of 15 years or more. An equally important item of revenue which goes to augment the fund is that provided in S.3 (2)(j), namely "all sums collected by way of sale of stamps under S 22". The Bar Council is authorised to print and distribute Welfare Fund Stamps of the value of Rs 2/-. S.23 deals with the use of such stamps and that section reads:

"23. Vakalath to bear stamps: (1) Every member of the Fund shall affix one stamp on every vakalath filed by him and no vakalath shall be filed before or received by any court, tribunal or other authority unless it is so stamped.

(2) The value of the stamp shall neither be costs in the case nor be collected in any event from the client.

(3) Any contravention of the provisions of sub-section (2) by any member shall disentitle him to the benefits of the Fund and the Trustee Committee shall report such instances to the Bar Council for appropriate action."

Rules have been made under the provisions of the Welfare Fund Act. These rules provide inter alia for affixing stamps on Vakalaths. R.13 may be read in this context:

"13. Members to affix stamp on Vakaiaths: Every member of the Fund shall affix one stamp on every vakalath filed by him and no vakalath shall be filed before, or received by, any court, tribunal or other authority unless it is so stamped:

Provided that the court, tribunal or other authority may receive a vakalath not bearing the stamp filed by an Advocate who is not a member of the Fund, if such vaka-'lath is accompanied by a declaration by him that he is not a member of the Fund."

Evidently it is the declaration contemplated under the proviso to R.13 that enables a court to determine whether it should receive the Vakalath without the requisite stamp under S.22 of the Act. Any advocate who becomes a member of the Fund is entitled to the rights contemplated by the Act, namely, the amount specified in the Schedule to the Act on cessation of practice He may opt for retirement benefit at any time aft

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1981 Supreme(Ker) 219

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