The Supreme Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of the plight and loss of income of lawyers during the pandemic.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde issued notice to the Centre, Bar Council of India and recognised Supreme Court and High Courts bar associations to set up a mechanism to gather funds and invite donations for advocates in need of help.
The court scheduled the case for further hearing after two weeks.
The court was inspired to take suo motu cognisance of the issue after going through a petition filed by the Bar Council of India (BCI), through its chairperson and senior advocate Man Kumar Mishra, seeking financial assistance, including disbursal of soft loans, to advocates in need.
Courts across the country are hearing urgent matters only via video link since the last week of March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
