The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and all the States on a petition filed by Supreme Court Bar Clerks Association for a direction to the Union government and the States to enact a law to provide social security measures to them.
A three-judge bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justices Ibrahim Kalifulla and A.K. Sikri issued notice on the petition after hearing senior counsel Dushyant Dave.
The Association said that advocates’ clerks had been suffering untold miseries because of the lack of social security measures. Even after working for four to five decades in the service of justice, they did not get any benefits except some charity. Few of the members of the Association had crossed the age of 65 years, but were working to meet their livelihood as they were not entitled to any pension.
It said premature death of some clerks had exposed the families to poverty and no provision of medical aid for sick clerks. Further lack of pension was a serious concern in the old age exposing them to mercy of grown up children. Hence, there was an urgent need for implementation of social security measures by enacting a legislation to meet the demands of advocates’ clerks.
It said “the service conditions of advocates’ clerks have not been regulated by any law in India. Both the Union of India and States have long overlooked and neglected the plight of advocates’ clerks. Even though some clerks in the legal sector are generously paid by advocates and litigants than the clerks in other sectors, but this generosity is not a substitute for the social security benefits as a legal entitlement. These social security measures inter alia are payment of compensation on death or disability and payment of pension, etc.”
It said the Union of India and the States were jointly and severally liable to implement the right to social security guaranteed to the advocates’ clerks under Art 21 of the constitution, by enacting legislation. It prayed for a direction in this regard.
