The All Odisha Layers’ Association (AOLA) has urged the Odisha State Bar Council (OSBC) and a Special Committee to postpone the implementation of the Odisha State Bar Council Advocates Welfare Corpus Fund Rules 2020 (hereinafter 2020 Rules). The law is strongly opposed by the community of lawyers all over the State.
Addressing a Press meet, the AOLA functionaries said the elections to the OSBC have been due since the month of May of 2019. Due to the reason for the elections not being conducted, the Bar Council of India, under Section 8 A of the Advocates Act of 1961 constituted a Special Committee to discharge the functions of the State Bar Council until the Bar Council is constituted under the Act.
The duty of the Committee was to conduct the elections to the OSBC within six months from its date of constitution. But instead of doing so, the Committee went ahead to frame the Odisha State Bar Council Advocates Welfare Corpus Fund Rules 2020. The Covid pandemic was prevalent at that point in time, and citing that as the reason, the Committee did not take any initiative for finalisation of the voter list to hold the elections in a democratic manner, rather extended its tenure from time to time. In the meantime, they imposed the 2020 Rules against the will and wish of the lawyers’ community of the State, they said.
Responding to the same, many affiliated Bar Associations of the State as well as the AOLA through their resolutions requested the Committee, the Advocate General and Chairman of OSBC to not to implement the rules within the pandemic situation and also pressed for compensation amount of Rs 10 lakh to be given to the families of those lawyers who lost their lives due to the Covid pandemic. The AOLA further resolved and requested the SC as well as the Welfare Trust to enhance the death incapacitation benefit to the lawyers from current Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.
The 2020 Rules has imposed an additional burden to the litigants and lawyers by affixing Rs 100 stamp duty in each Vakalatnama/ memo of appearance and this has been resented and opposed by the lawyers at large, and has been held unacceptable among the lawyers' fraternity.
The pandemic had hit the entire world, and to all the States of the country. All other elections in the country were held, in line with the Covid restrictions, barring the OSBC which denied conducting the elections, citing Covid and other allied reasons. This was clearly against the interest of the lawyers and was not granted well by them.
At the same time, the Committee vide their Agenda No. 20 of Special Committee meeting dated 23.11.22 finalized on the Rules, and with the objective of carrying out the agenda of the resolution of the meeting, the Secretary of OSBC in its letter with. 0SBC/26I0( l3l)/23 dated 17.1.23 issued a notice to the respective presidents/secretaries of all the a 111 affiliated Bar Associations, asking them to either implement the rules within 2 weeks or they shall be placed before the Committee (for necessary' disciplinary' action to be taken).The AOLA firmly requested the OSBC and the Advocate General to postpone the implementation of the 2020 Rules, until the regular elections are conducted and the elected council is constituted.
This Press conference was held under chairmanship of Gyana Ranjan Mohanty, and presided over by AOLA president Birendra Patnaik. General secretary Sanjit Panigrahi, senior advisor Subhash Chandra Mishra, working president Dilip Das, Manoranjan Mohanty, Sameer Nayak and Prasanta Sahu among others were present.