Bar council funds cross ₹1cr, lawyers to get aid soon

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:23.04.2020

The Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, which has mobilised more than ₹67 lakh as lockdown relief fund for lawyers, got another ₹45 lakh from Bar Council of India (BCI) on Wednesday.

A cheque for the sum was handed over by BCI vice-chairman and senior advocate S Prabakaran to state bar council chairman P S Amalraj. With this the state council now has more than ₹1.12 crore, to be distributed to deserving indigent lawyers affected by lockdown and loss of business.

It was Justice S M Subramaniam who mooted the idea of bar council extending financial assistance to lawyers. “We have received more than 11,000 applications from lawyers seeking financial assistance. We will shortly scrutinise the claims and start handing over cheques,” said Prabakaran. The quantum of relief will be decided once the relief fund is consolidated and final count of beneficiaries is drawn, he said.