Alka Verma-
Published on: October 31, 2021 at 18:52 IST
The Telangana High Court upheld the Section 15 of the Telangana Advocates Welfare Fund Act, 1987.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Ujjal Bhuyan showed their support to the Provision, which restricts Advocates who are above 35 years from applying to the Welfare Fund.
“When an Advocate below the age of 35 years applies for membership of the Fund, it would mean that he is an Advocate who has joined the profession from the law school without any employment with terminal benefits in the interregnum,” stated the Bench.
The Bench made these statement while hearing a Writ Petition filed by Advocate Mohammed Ajaz Ali Khan.
Khan, in his Petition mentioned that the Section 15 of the Telangana Advocates’ Welfare Fund Act, 1987 discriminates people as it restricts Advocates above 35 years of age from applying to the Welfare Fund.
However, the Bar Council argued that Lawyers enrolling after retiring from Government Services and are enjoying pension, should never be compared with those Advocates who have devoted their whole lives to this profession.
The Bench after hearing both the sides, dismissed the Plea of Advocate Mohammed Ajaz Ali Khan.
The Bench referring to S. Seshachalam V. Chairman, Bar Council of Tamil Nadu (2014) 16 SCC 72 stated, “Though the above analysis by the Supreme Court was on a somewhat different context i.e. classification of Advocates into those who join the profession after superannuating from service and those who join the profession straight away from the law schools, nonetheless, the fact remains that the legislature has consciously provided a cut off age limit of 35 years for being eligible to be a member of the Fund.”
“Section 15 (1) of the Act as it originally stood, did not prescribe any age bar. However, in 1998, it was amended to restrict Advocates below the age of 65 years as being eligible to be a member of the Fund. As we have already noticed above, when this Amended Provision was in force from 1998 to 2006, Petitioner did not apply for membership of the Fund. In 2006 Section 15 (1) was further amended prescribing eligibility limit of below 35 years,” added the Bench.
It should be noted here that Section 15 of the Telangana Advocates’ Welfare Fund Act, 1987 allows all the Advocates who are below age 35 year are a member of a Bar Association recognized by the Bar Council, to be a part of a committee wherein Funds may be prescribed.
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