Silent pillars: Unseen burdens of junior advocates in Telangana

Hyderabad: Junior advocates, often the unsung pillars of the legal system and the future of the judiciary, continue to face daunting challenges during the formative years of their practice. For many, especially those from marginalized and economically disadvantaged backgrounds, the journey into the legal profession is riddled with financial hardship, professional neglect, and a glaring lack of institutional support.

Despite their vital role in facilitating justice and assisting senior members of the bar, junior advocates are frequently left to fend for themselves. They struggle without a steady income, structured mentorship, or access to even the most basic welfare benefits. These systemic challenges have triggered growing demands for state-supported stipends, comprehensive insurance coverage, and meaningful welfare reforms to ensure that the legal profession remains accessible, not only to the privileged few but to all.

Financial Hardships and Career Insecurity: At the core of this crisis lies a harsh financial truth. The vast majority of junior advocates earn either nothing or a paltry stipend, typically between ₹5,000 and ₹10,000 per month. In cities like Hyderabad, this is woefully inadequate to cover even the bare essentials, such as rent, transport, formal attire, and legal books. In many instances, juniors remain unpaid for months, surviving only with family support or by seeking alternative sources of income.

First-generation lawyers, especially from rural or marginalized communities, bear the brunt of this inequity. Lacking both financial stability and professional connections, many are forced to abandon the profession prematurely. The result is a disturbing trend where legal practice becomes increasingly exclusionary, accessible only to those with economic privilege.

Lack of Mentorship: The traditional apprenticeship model, in which juniors learn the ropes under senior advocates, has come under serious criticism. Though designed to foster learning, the reality is starkly different. Many junior lawyers report being reduced to performing clerical tasks—fetching files, managing court dates, or simply observing proceedings—without meaningful legal work or adequate compensation.

The absence of structured mentorship, combined with long hours and negligible guidance, fosters a deep sense of professional stagnation and disillusionment. What is often portrayed as "training" amounts, in practice, to unpaid labour, leaving juniors ill-prepared for independent legal practice.

Acknowledging these hardships, junior lawyers’ associations and members of the Telangana Bar Council have persistently called for welfare-oriented reforms. Key demands include:

Monthly Stipend Scheme: A structured stipend of ₹20,000 for city-based juniors and ₹15,000 for those in smaller towns, funded jointly by the State Government and the Bar Council. Similar models have already been implemented in states like Karnataka, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh.

Library Grants: An annual grant of ₹20,000 for five years to help junior advocates build legal libraries and improve their research capacities.

Insurance Coverage: Comprehensive health and accident insurance with zero premium burden on juniors. While the Telangana government currently provides ₹2 lakh health and ₹10 lakh accident insurance, this covers only 19,000 of the state's 50,000 registered advocates, leaving nearly 30,000, particularly juniors with 2 to 10 years of experience, without any coverage.

Strengthening of Welfare Fund: A proposed annual state grant of ₹10 crore to the Advocates’ Welfare Fund to supplement the existing revenue from welfare stamps and life membership fees.

In 2022, the Telangana Government sanctioned ₹100 crore towards the Advocates’ Welfare Fund, pledging support for 25,000 advocates. However, due to limited interest earnings on this corpus, only about 19,000 advocates are currently covered under the health insurance scheme, again leaving the majority of junior advocates excluded.

Bar Council’s Plea: On December 25, 2022, members of the Telangana Bar Council submitted a comprehensive representation to the Law Minister, urging reforms. Under Section 12(2) of the Advocates’ Welfare Fund Act, the primary source of income for the fund is the sale of welfare stamps affixed to every Vakalath. Despite this, the Council receives only ₹5.4 crore annually—barely enough to cover ₹4.76 crore in expenses on death benefits, medical aid, and retirement support.

To address this shortfall, the current Government has proposed increasing the value of welfare stamps from ₹100 to ₹250. This enhancement is expected to significantly boost revenue and may help underwrite the cost of insurance premiums for junior advocates, thereby expanding the safety net.

In 2024, the Bar Council of India (BCI) issued advisory guidelines recommending a minimum stipend—₹20,000 for juniors in urban areas and ₹15,000 in rural areas for the first three years of practice. While a positive step, these guidelines remain non-binding and largely unenforced, resulting in uneven and often negligible implementation.

Some High Courts have intervened. The Madras High Court notably called for mandatory stipends and condemned the ongoing exploitation of juniors as a violation of constitutional rights. However, in the absence of a binding nationwide mandate, such directives lack teeth and fail to deliver lasting relief.

Infrastructural Investments vs. Human Capital

The Telangana government has demonstrated its intent to modernize the judicial infrastructure. Under Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s leadership, ₹2,600 crore has been allocated for constructing a new High Court complex over 100 acres at Rajendranagar. The project includes residential quarters for judges and staff, symbolizing a landmark institutional upgrade.

Yet, junior advocates argue that investing in buildings while ignoring the human resources, the engine of the legal system, is fundamentally flawed. Without supporting the people who make justice work, particularly the junior bar, even the most sophisticated infrastructure will remain hollow.

A Call for Systemic Reform

The plight of junior advocates in Telangana is emblematic of a deeper national crisis, where commitment, capability, and idealism are often overshadowed by economic disparity. If left unaddressed, the legal profession risks alienating an entire generation of passionate young lawyers.

Comprehensive reforms are no longer optional. A robust stipend structure, expanded insurance coverage, structured mentorship programs, and legal safeguards against exploitation must be urgently institutionalized. These are not mere welfare measures—they are investments in the future of justice.

For now, junior advocates in Telangana continue to persevere, hoping their silent struggle will finally be heard, not just in the courtrooms, but in the legislative halls where real change begins.

Author: B.V. Seshagiri

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