The Kerala Govt has mandated a stipend of Rs 3,000 per month for lawyers under the age of 30 and experience of less than three years

The Kerala government has mandated a stipend of Rs 3,000 per month for lawyers under the age of 30 with less than three years of experience and an annual income of less than $1 lakh. On June 26, the Government Order (GO) clarified that the annual income limit of ₹1 lakh does not apply to lawyers belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The GO was issued after taking into account the Kerala Advocates' Stipend Rules notified by the Bar Council of the state of Kerala in December 2021. The rule directed for payment of up to ₹5,000 per month to lawyers with less than three years of practice and an annual income not exceeding ₹1 lakh. After the notification of the said Rules, a Trustee Committee made some recommendations to the State Government, the basis of which the new GO was issued.

In March 2018, the Kerala Government issued an order approving the payment of ₹5,000 per month to junior lawyers. However, the same had not been implemented for over three years. Hence, a lawyer approached the Kerala High Court with a petition putting forward the grievances of junior lawyers. Thereafter, the High Court repeatedly pulled up the Bar Council of Kerala for the delay in implementing the said order.

Currently, the Bombay HC and the Chhattisgarh HC are seized of public interest litigation (PIL) petitions seeking stipends for junior lawyers.