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HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Date of Decision: 19th January, 2021
ANKUR GOSAIN & ANR. ..... Petitioners
Through: Mr. S.S. Sastry, Advocate along with
Petitioner No. 1 in person (M:
9999401558).
Mr. Abhishek Gupta, Advocate for Impleadment Applicant.
Through: Mr. Rishikesh Kumar ASC and Mr. Premsagar Pal, Advocate for R-1 and
JUDGMENT
2 GNCTD. Mr. Ajayinder Sangwan, Advocate for BCD. CORAM: JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH Prathiba M. Singh, J.(Oral)
1. This hearing has been done through video conferencing.
2. The present petition has been filed by two lawyers Mr. Ankur Gosain and Ms. Chhavi Khungar, who are both enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi (hereinafter, ‘BCD’). The Petitioners wish to avail of the benefits under the Chief Minister’s Advocates’ Welfare Scheme (hereinafter, ‘Scheme’) notified on 20th March, 2020.
3. This Court has passed detailed orders in a batch of matters including WP(C) 3362/2020, titled Bar Council of India through its Chairman v. GNCTD in which insurance policies have been directed to be processed in favour of lawyers enrolled with the BCD. The Petitioners submit that their 2021:DHC:222 names have not been included in the list of beneficiaries. Similarly, an application for impleadment has been filed on behalf of Ms. Gunjan Bansal stating that her name is not being included in the list of beneficiaries. Since similar issues are raised by the impleadment applicant, CM APPL. 735/2021 for impleadment is allowed.
4. In view of the fact that the Scheme is available for all lawyers enrolled with the BCD who are residing in Delhi, the BCD is directed to carry out a verification in respect of all the three advocates. If the verification is affirmative, the names and details of all the three advocates shall be communicated to the GNCTD. Let the needful be done within a week.
5. If the BCD verifies the advocates’ credentials, the IT Department, GNCTD shall take steps to include the name and other details of the advocates in the beneficiary list, in order to enable them to avail of the life insurance as well as the mediclaim policies, in accordance with the directions passed by this Court in WP(C) 3362/2020, titled Bar Council of India through its Chairman v. GNCTD.
6. The advocates shall also submit the same to the BCD any documents sought, including proof of qualifying the All India Bar Examination (hereinafter, ‘AIBE’). The said information be provided within three days.
7. In order to avoid filing of multiple writ petitions by eligible lawyers, it is directed as under:i. All such advocates who have registered with the BCD for availing of the Scheme and who have been allotted a unique ID but have not been included in the list of beneficiaries are permitted to approach the BCD with requisite documentation. The said documentation shall include their UID number, as well as their voter ID card establishing that they are a resident of Delhi. If there are any further requirements of the BCD, to be satisfied, the needful be done by the Advocates. iii. All the advocates who have any outstanding grievances in respect of availing of the insurance scheme are directed to contact Mr. Vinod Sharma, Administrator, Bar Council of Delhi (E-mail: vinodbcd@rediffmail.com; Mobile Number: 9999489809). iv. Upon receiving all the information from the advocates, the BCD shall conduct the verification expeditiously and communicate the details to the GNCTD for further action. v. The IT department GNCTD, upon receiving the verified data of the advocates shall take steps to include the name and other details of the advocates in the beneficiary list, in order to enable them to avail of the life insurance as well as the mediclaim policies, in accordance with the directions passed from time to time, by this Court in WP(C) 3362/2020, titled Bar Council of India through its Chairman v. GNCTD.
8. The writ petition is disposed of in the above terms. All pending applications are also disposed of.
PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUDGE JANUARY 19, 2021 MR/T (Corrected & released on 23rd January, 2021)