Snehal Upadhyay –
Published on August 26, 2021, at 13:50 IST
The Delhi High Court issued notices on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which claimed for inclusion of Advocates within the definition of “Professionals” under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSME) Act, 2006 to access welfare schemes.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued the notice to the MSME Ministry, Finance Ministry, Bar Council of India and the RBI respectively, after hearing Advocate Abhijit Mishra, who was appearing as a party in person.
The petition mentioned that the MSME Ministry fails to recognize Advocates as eligible professionals for accessing the Government of India’s progressive schemes.
It was further submitted that there has been no introduction made by the Government of India to the advocates concerning developmental schemes for the welfare such as training platforms or access to the collateral-free loans for the purchase of equipment such as laptops, printers and scanners etc. for accessing the E-Courts.
“Profession of Advocates hold imminent position under the aegis of Article 22 Constitution of India which is the fundamental right of every citizen to consult only the Advocate. However, lack of infrastructure and equipment with the Advocates is leading to the serious pendency issues with the Honorable Courts,” Mishra argued.
Therefore it was contended that Advocates should be included within the MSME Act for accessing the welfare schemes of the Government.
Further, it was also requested that the Department of Financial Services under the Finance Ministry should develop banking products and schemes in consultation with the Bar Council of India for the Advocates’ welfare.
After listening to the contentions he Bench issued notice and stated that the matter would be further heard on 12th October.
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