After 11 years, law ministry hikes fees of advocates in Govt cases

The Union Law Ministry has increased the fees of advocate, who represent the central Government in courts across the country, after a gap of nearly 11 years. In a notification issued on February 5, the Department of Legal Affairs in the Law Ministry said that now group ‘A’ counsels appearing for regular appeals and defended petitions for final hearing will get Rs 21,600 per case per day, while group ‘B’ and ‘C’ counsels will be paid Rs 14,400.

Earlier, the fee stood at Rs 13,500 for group A counsels and Rs 9,000 for group B and C counsels. The fee payable to the Government counsels was last revised in October 2015. Fees for other category of cases and setting up conferences with various central ministries has also been revised.

Fee payable to counsels appearing in courts outside their headquarters — which could be Delhi or State capitals — has also been hiked.

A top official said the hike was long overdue, keeping in mind inflation and rising costs of hiring professionals.

“The fee revision notification for central Government counsel, an exercise initiated during my tenure as Law Secretary, has come into effect. Congratulations to all counsels. This was long overdue, for over a decade. I’m glad the effort has reached its rightful conclusion,” former Union law secretary Anju Rathi Rana posted on X.

Rana, who is now a member secretary, Law Commission, said the hike was a must to retain talented advocates to represent the Union Government in courts.

Besides law officers comprising the attorney general, the solicitor general and various additional solicitors general, the central Government also hires advocates to represent it in judicial fora as legal counsels.