Jabalpur, Jul 31 The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued notices to its Registrar General and the state Law and Legislative Affairs Department on a plea challenging the Rs 12 lakh annual income requirement for three consecutive years for senior advocate designation.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal sought responses from the respondents after hearing a petition filed by Bhopal-based advocate Rajesh Nema on Thursday.
The petition challenges a March 17 notification issued by HC under which only advocates who have filed Income Tax Returns (ITR) showing an annual income of at least Rs 12 lakh for three consecutive years are eligible to apply for the senior advocate designation.
Nema, who argued the case in person, contended that the income criterion would prevent many deserving lawyers from being designated as senior advocates despite their legal competence.
He also argued that prescribing a minimum income threshold for the designation runs contrary to the objective of encouraging lawyers to provide free legal aid to the poor.
The petition further submitted that no such income criterion exists for designation of senior advocates in several other states. The provision violates Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law, he added.
After the hearing, the division bench issued notices to the respondents and sought their replies.
