Subscribe to it or risk suspension, says BCTP

Chennai: More than 9,000 advocates, who enrolled prior to 1993, when the subscription to the Bar Council of India Advocates Welfare Fund (BCIAWF) was made mandatory, have not subscribed to the BCIAWF and if they failed to subscribe the same, they will not only be suspended till they make the payment but also become ineligible to vote or contest in the election, said the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Briefing media persons with regard to the arrears of subscription towards BCIAWF to be paid by advocates, who have enrolled before April 1, 1993 under Rule 40, Chapter-II, Part-VI of the BCI rules, Advocate general Vijay Narayan, who is also the Chairman of the Special Committee of the BCTP said as far as electoral rolls are concerned, the BCTP found that 9,249 lawyers have not subscribed to the BCIAWF. The details have been posted on the BCTP website. The lawyers can verify it and make the payment, he added.

He said there are totally 86,000 lawyers on rolls, who were eligible to vote. But only 56,000 advocates have submitted their certificates for verification. The remaining 30,000 were yet to submit. The SC had on November 26 directed the Bar Councils to publish the electoral rolls before November 30. Most of the Bar Councils felt that the time given was short. 

Therefore, the BCI has filed an application for extension of time before the Supreme Court. The case came up for hearing today and it was adjourned to December 11. As far as the BCTP was concerned, whatever order be passed by the SC, it will adhere to it. “We are waiting for the orders of the SC. Once, the SC fixed the date for the conduct of the election, the BCTP will adhere to it”, he added. Advocate N. Chandrasekar, member of the Special Committee and BCTP secretary C. Raja Kumar were also present at the meeting.