Delhi HC directs Kejriwal govt to take steps for immediate procurement of insurance for 29,098 advocates

New Delhi [India], June 19 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the Delhi Government to take all steps required for the immediate procurement of insurance policies for the 29,098 advocates whose names have been verified by the Bar Council of Delhi.

The court while passing direction in this regard also stated that any verification of the said names which the Delhi government wishes to conduct, to check if they are on the electoral rolls of Delhi or not, would be done parallelly, to ensure that there is no delay in implementation of the Scheme.

Justice Pratibha M Singh further directed the Delhi Government to go ahead with the issuance of the Notice Inviting Tenders ("NIT") seeking bids from the insurance companies, in order to finalise the insurance company which would be awarded the tender for the group insurance and mediclaim insurance of the 29,098 Advocates.

Let the NIT be issued within a period of one week from today by the Principal Secretary, Department of Law, Justice and Legislative Affairs, Delhi government, the court said while slated the matter for July 17 for next hearing.

The court was hearing the several petitions seeking medical and term insurance policy to advocates as promised by the Delhi government.

One of the petition also moved by Advocate KC Mittal, Chairman, Bar Council of Delhi seeks direction to the Respondents to release the money and provide insurance policy covers for Medical and Term insurance, as per "Chief Minister Advocates Welfare Scheme", to Advocates, who have already been registered and approved in terms of Cabinet Decision dated December 18, 2019 and the public advertisement dated March 20, 2020, numbering 29,098.

It is submitted that the advocates have been desperately waiting for the welfare schemes by the Delhi government since January-February 2019, when the Chief Minister, Government of NCT of Delhi made a budgetary provision of Rs 50 crores for the financial year 2019-2020 and made a public announcement to the said effect for the welfare of the Advocates.

The petition stated that it was decided in cabinet dated December 18, 2019, to provide Welfare Scheme to the advocates under Chief Minister Advocates Welfare Scheme, according to which and advocates enrolled with the petitioner (BCD) and a voter of Delhi is entitled to register himself/herself and be a beneficiary of the scheme for medical insurance of Rs 5 lakh and term insurance of Rs 10 lakh.

It submitted that no schemes were made available during 2019-2020 and even in disastrous COVID crisis nothing is done to unedited implementation of schemes. (ANI)