Members of the Advocates’ Association, Bengaluru (AAB), staged a demonstration on Monday demanding that the State government release ₹45 crore as financial assistance to advocates who are in distress owing to the closure of regular courts in the State because of COVID-19.
The AAB members, led by their president A.P. Ranganatha, said that the ₹5 crore released by the State government was meagre when 85% of the one lakh or so practising advocates were financially not sound.
Pointing out that the Telangana government had announced a package of ₹25 crore for advocates in distress, the AAB urged Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to announce a package for advocates on the lines of the ones announced for migrants and those working in the unorganised sector. The demonstrators also urged the CM to come out with an insurance scheme for advocates, as was requested by AAB in a representation submitted in October 2019.
