Plea moved in Delhi High Court for financial assistance to lawyers

A plea has been moved in the Delhi High Court seeking financial assistance for lawyers enrolled with Bar Council of Delhi (BCD), irrespective of their state of residence, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The petition, which was listed before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan on Thursday, has also sought a moratorium on EMIs and loan repayments till the situation normalises.

The bench recused from hearing the matter and said it would be heard by the bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad on September 8.

The petition, by lawyer Sunil Kumar Tiwari, has contended that imposition of interest on loans and credit card payments during the moratorium has defeated the purpose of the same.

The plea, filed through advocate Mukesh Kumar Singh, has claimed that during the prevalent pandemic neither the Centre nor the Delhi government provided any financial assistance to lawyers, but they did provide economic relief and other aid to corporates, industries and labourers.

It has said that the only relief for indigent lawyers came from BCD which gave a one time financial help of Rs 5,000 to such advocates. However, this amount was not at all sufficient for their survival, it has also said.

(Photo Credit: PTI)