Shivangi Prakash-
The Delhi High Court declared on Monday that the GNCTD’s CM Advocates Welfare Scheme cannot be restricted to lawyers who live in Delhi.
The Court ruled that lawyers practising in Delhi and registered with the Delhi Bar Council but residing in the NCR are also eligible, and that voter ID proving domicile in Delhi is not required.
A bench led by Justice Prathiba M Singh issued the decision.
The Court had already deferred its decision on a number of petitions, including one filed by the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) seeking to offer medical and term insurance to its members.
According to the BCD’s petition, which was filed by its chairman, K.C. Mittal, there are 37,135 lawyers who are registered voters in Delhi, with 29,098 of them on the BCD’s records and are verified.
The Delhi Government has agreed to give medical insurance of 5 lakh and term insurance of 10 lakh to lawyers who are residents of the National Capital under the Chief Minister’s Advocates’ Welfare Scheme, according to a Cabinet resolution dated December 17, 2019.
According to the petition, no scheme was made available in 2019-20, and nothing was done even during COVID-19.
The Court was also considering a petition filed by Advocate Govind Swaroop Chaturvedi, who requested that the scheme’s benefits be extended to all persons enrolled with the BCD, regardless of whether their names appear on the National Capital’s voter list or not.
Mr Swaroop claims that he is a BCD member, a member of the Delhi High Court Bar Association, and practises in New Delhi Courts, but that he no longer lives in the National Capital, and that the notification is discriminatory, illegal, and unfair.
The petitions sought to overturn or modify the Government’s March 17 announcement by removing the eligibility criteria for awarding welfare benefits based on names on the Delhi voters’ list.
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