Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has declared as illegal the transfer fee charged by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa (BCMG) for transferring an advocate’s enrollment from another state.
Court Upholds Legal Principle
A bench of Justices Suman Shyam and Shyam Chandak was hearing a writ petition filed by advocate Devendra Nath Tripathi, who challenged the Rs15,405 transfer fee imposed on him when he sought to shift his enrollment from the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh to BCMG in 2013.
Petitioner Cites Advocates Act
Tripathi, originally enrolled with the UP Bar Council in 2003, moved to Mumbai and applied for transfer of enrollment under Section 18 of the Advocates Act, 1961. He argued that the section clearly mandates such transfers must be free of charge. Despite this, BCMG collected fees amounting to Rs 1,900 for the UP Bar Council, Rs 11,490 for BCMG, and Rs 2,015 for the Bar Council of India (BCI).
Tripathi further contended that the fee was imposed based on Resolution No. 112 of 2010 adopted by BCMG, which permitted transfer fee collection — something he argued was outside the scope of the law. He also pointed out that he was charged retrospectively for the period from 2003 to 2014, even though he was not enrolled in Maharashtra during that time.
Prospective Effect Only
The Court referred to a Supreme Court’s judgment where it was held that Bar Councils cannot charge any fees not explicitly permitted under the Advocates Act. Agreeing with this precedent, the Bombay High Court held that the transfer fee charged by BCMG violated Section 18(1) of the Act and was therefore illegal.
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However, since Tripathi did not seek a refund, the Court granted relief only to the extent of declaring the fee illegal and clarified that the ruling would apply prospectively. The HC accordingly, disposed of the petition.
