A’bad Bar Association demands `50 crore aid

Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad Bar Association (ABA) has urged the state government to provide financial assistance to lawyers struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Advocate Paresh Jani, president of Ahmedabad’s City Civil Court’s Bar Association and a member of the Bar Council of Gujarat, wrote a letter addressed to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, seeking assistance of Rs50 crore for legal practitioners in the city.

He informed the state that the COVID-19 crisis had left several lawyers without an income. Jani also cited the decisions taken by the governments of Rajasthan, Goa, Delhi, and Kerala to provide financial assistance to members of their respective bar councils. According to Jani, nearly one-third of the 75,000 advocates registered with the Gujarat Bar Council are facing financial difficulties.

According to last year’s Supreme Court order following the lockdown, advocates are not permitted to practice any other profession or earn a living in any other way. He also stated the hardship being faced by female lawyers in the city. Jani stated that if the state is unable to announce a financial package, it should at the very least offer a soft loan package to advocates who are experiencing financial difficulties.