The State Bar Council elections are scheduled to be held in March this year, after nearly eight years. The last Bar Council elections were held in 2018. Even before the polls, allegations of irregularities in the election announcement process have surfaced. Alongside this, accusations of financial misappropriation that allegedly date back nearly 14 years have emerged ahead of the elections.
The controversy centres on the Advocates Welfare Corporation, which was formed in 2012 alongside the Bar Council’s Welfare Fund with the stated objective of supporting lawyers. Allegations have been raised that large sums of money from the Welfare Fund were transferred through this corporation.
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After receiving complaints in October last year, the Central Law Ministry ordered an investigation into the matter. A case has also been filed in the Calcutta High Court alleging financial irregularities in the State Bar Council. The petition includes references to the Advocates Welfare Corporation. The matter is likely to be heard on Wednesday in the court of Justice Krishna Rao.
According to sources, the Advocates Welfare Fund was established around three and a half decades ago to support lawyers in the state during times of financial distress. The fund operates through a trust, collecting contributions from lawyers and providing financial assistance to those in need.
However, in 2012, the Advocates Welfare Corporation was created under the Bar Council, with commerce listed as the primary objective. It was announced that the corporation would offer various forms of financial assistance to lawyers, including home loans, car loans, and medical support. It also said it would provide stipends to newly enrolled lawyers during their first year of practice, a support that is already available under the Welfare Fund.
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According to a section of lawyers, concerns arise from provisions in the Advocates Welfare Corporation law that allow the corporation to use money from the Advocates Welfare Fund. They allege that this is where the roots of financial irregularities lie. Questions have been raised about whether funds collected from thousands of lawyers over the years for welfare purposes have been diverted elsewhere.
Lawyers opposing the arrangement argue that despite the existence of the Welfare Fund, there remains a lack of clarity about why the corporation was created and what specific functions it serves. The state government had initially provided ₹2 crore to launch the corporation.
A lawyer who was associated for a long time with the trust managing the Welfare Fund said that after the corporation was created, the trust’s rules were amended to allow the Welfare Fund’s money to be transferred to the corporation’s fund. According to the amended provision, any money received from the lawyers’ welfare fund under the State Lawyers’ Welfare Fund Act, 1991, would be treated as part of the corporation’s capital.
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Alipore court lawyer Subir Sengupta said he had raised the issues and submitted relevant documents while filing complaints on October 27 last year with the President, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, the Law Ministry, and the Governor. He said he received a response only from the Law Ministry, which, according to him, has ordered an investigation.
Baiswanar Chattopadhyay, a member of the State Bar Council and a Trinamool Congress leader who was named managing director of the Advocates Welfare Corporation, responded to the allegations by saying the corporation was established to support lawyers in every possible manner. He added that he is no longer associated with the corporation and that the Lawyers’ Welfare Fund continues to function.
Anindya Saha, secretary of the Lawyers’ Welfare Fund, said he was not aware of the specific work carried out by the corporation but noted that the Welfare Fund continues to assist lawyers through the collection of a nominal annual contribution.
