Allahabad High Court: In a public interest litigation (‘PIL’) filed by a practising advocate of the Allahabad High Court seeking disbursement of funds to meet the expenses for the treatment of a severally injured State Law Officer, a Division Bench of Rajan Roy and Om Prakash Shukla, JJ., noted the absence of any scheme covering insurance of lawyers in case of a mishappening and requested the State Government to formulate some insurance scheme may be a Group Insurance Scheme for the lawyers appearing for the State Government throughout the State of U.P., including before the High Court.
Background
The aggrieved was a State Law Officer who met with a serious accident near his house and was admitted at the hospital in a critical condition. His family, falling short of enough finances to pay the hospital bills which amounted to Rs. 50,000 in a day, was helped by the Bar Association, through a grant of Rs. 1,00,000, up to its maximum disbursement limit. However, the same was not sufficient to meet the costs incurred on his treatment. A PIL was subsequently filed, seeking funds to meet the expenses for the treatment and to formulate an established procedure for the insurance of State Law Officers, acknowledging the absence of any such scheme currently.
Court’s Assessment
The Court, reacting upon the Additional Advocate General’s oral request to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat for providing monetary assistance to the aggrieved, out of the discretionary funds quota, requested the State Government to provide financial assistance to the aggrieved at the earliest.
The Court, noting the absence of any such scheme for the insurance of State Law Officers also requested the State Government to formulate one such scheme considering the safety and well-being of lawyers.
The Court appreciated the gesture of the co-chairman of the U.P. Bar Council for his willingness to provide any financial assistance that can be provided to the aggrieved family by the Council, within ten days. Additionally, the Court requested the senior members to help the aggrieved family in whatever way possible.
Considering the issue, important to the lawyers in general and State Law Officers in particular, the Court also directed the State Government to file an affidavit in this regard for the State Law Officers within four weeks. It further stated that the Oudh Bar Association, being the opposite party along with the U. P. Bar Council and Principal Secretary, Law/Legal Remembrancer, U.P., may also do the same.
The matter will next be taken up in the first week of August 2024.
[Hari Prasad Gupta v State of U.P., PIL No. 503 of 2024, Order dated on: 30-05-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For the Petitioner: Petitioner in Person
For the Respondent: C.S.C, Namit Sharma, Ratnesh Chandra
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