Assam Advocates Welfare Fund Act, 1998
No: 18 Dated: Jun, 15 1999
Amendment:-Assam Advocates Welfare Fund (Amendment) Act, 2009
THE ASSAM ADVOCATES' WELFARE FUND ACT, 1998
ASSAM ACT NO. XVIII OF 1999
An Act to provide for constitution of a Welfare Fund for the benefit of Advocates in the State of Assam and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
It is hereby enacted in the Forty-ninth Year of the Republic of India, as follows:
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) The Act may be called the Assam Advocates' Welfare Fund Act, 1998.
(2) It extends to the whole of the Assam.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "Advocate" means a person whose name has been entered in the State roll of advocates prepared and maintained by the Bar Council of Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh under Section 17 of the Advocates' Act, 1961 (25 of 1961) and who is practising as an Advocate in the State of Assam;
(b) "Bar Association" means an Association of Advocates recognised by the Bar Council under Section 13;
(c) "Bar Council" means the Bar Council of Assam Act Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh constituted under Section 3 of the Advocates' Act, 1961 (25 of 1961);
(d) "cessation of practice" means removal of the name of an Advocate from the State roll maintained by the Bar Council on account of his retirement or on death or on grounds of professional misconduct;
(e) "Committee" means the Assam Advocates' Welfare Fund Committee constituted under Section 4;
(d) "dependent" means wife, husband, father, mother and unmarried minor children or such of them as exist;
(g) "Fund" means the Assam Advocates' Welfare Fund constituted under Section 3;
(h) "State Government" means the Government of Assam;
(i) "member of the Fund" means, an Advocate admitted to the benefit of the Fund and continuing to be a member thereof under the provisions of this Act;
(j) "notification" means the notification published in the Assam Gazette, and the word "notified" shall be construed accordingly;
(k) "prescribed" means prescribed by rule made under this Act;
(l) "retirement" means stoppage of practice as an Advocate for reasons other than joining service or for carrying on any other gainful occupation, communicated to and recorded by the Bar Council;
(m) "Fund Stamp" means the Assam Advocates' Welfare Fund Stamp printed and distributed under Section 18;
(n) "suspension of practice" means voluntary suspension of practice as an Advocate or suspension by the Bar Council for misconduct;
(o) "Vakalatnama" means a Vakalatnama, memorandum of appearance or by any other document by which an Advocate or any other legal practitioner is empowered to appear and plead before any Court, tribunal, authority or person.
CHAPTER II
Constitution of Advocates' Welfare Fund
3. Assam Advocates' Welfare Fund. - (1) With effect from the commencement of this Act the State Government shall, by notification, constitute a Fund to be called the Assam Advocates' Welfare Fund.
(2) There shall be credited to the Fund-
(a) all amounts collected under Section 19;
(b) any contribution made by the Bar Council;
(c) any voluntary donation or contribution made to the Fund by the Bar Council of India, any Bar Association, any other association or institution, any Advocate or any other person;
(d) grant, if any, made by the Central Government or the State Government or other authority to the Fund;
(e) any sum borrowed under Section 10;
(f) any profit or dividend received from the Life Insurance Corporation of India in respect of policies of group insurance of the members of the Fund;
(g) any interest of dividend or other return on any investment made of any part of the Fund;
(h) all sums collected under Section 15 by way of application fees, membership fee or other subscriptions and interest thereon;
(3) The sums specified in sub-section (2) shall be paid to, or collected by such agencies, a such intervals and in such manner, and the accounts of the Fund shall be maintained in such manner, as may be prescribed.
CHAPTER III
Establishment of the Assam Advocates Welfare Fund Committee
4. Organisation of the Assam Advocates' Welfare Fund Committee. - (1) The State Government may, by notification, constitute with effect from such date as may be specified therein a Committee to be called the Assam Advocates' Welfare Fund Committee.
(2) The Committee shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property and shall by the said name, sue and be sued.
(3) The Committee shall consist of-
(a) The Chairman of the Bar Council-Ex-officio Chairman;
(b) The Advocate-General of Assam-Ex-officio member;
(c) The Secretary to the Government of Assam, Legislative Department-Ex-officio member
(d) The Secretary to the Government of Assam, judicial Department Ex-Officio member.
(e) the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam, Finance Department-Ex-officio member;
(f) three other members of the Bar Council nominated by the Bar Council from amongst its members other than ex-officio members of the said Council-members;
(g) the Secretary to the Bar Council-Ex-officio Secretary of the committee without having voting right;
(h) a practising Advocate of the State to be co-opted by the other members of the Committee for a period of five years and his term shall be co-terminus with the term of the Bar Council-member.
(4) A member nominated from the Bar Council under clause (f) of sub-section (3) shall hold office for a term of five years or for the term of his membership in the Bar Council, whichever is less.
5. Disqualification and removal of nominated member. - No person shall be nominated and continue as a member of the Committee under clause (f) of sub-section (3) of Section 4 if he-
(a) is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent Court; or
(b) is, or at any time has been, adjudicated insolvent; or
(c) is or has been convicted by a Criminal Court for an offence involving moral turpitude, unless such conviction has been set aside; or
(d) is a defaulter to the Fund; or
(e) is debarred from practising on the ground of professional or other misconduct; or
(f) ceases to be an Advocate under the Advocates Act, 1961 (25 of 1961).
6. Resignation and casual vacancy. - (1) Any member nominated under clause (f) of sub-section (3) of Section 4 by the Bar Council may resign his office by giving three months notice in writing to the Chairman of the Committee and on such resignation being accepted by the Chairman, the said member shall be deemed to have vacated his office.
(2) If any member nominated under clause (f) of sub-section (3) of Section 4;
(a) becomes subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in Section 5; or
(b) is absent without leave from the Committee for more than three consecutive meetings of Committee, his sent shall thereupon become vacant.
(3) A casual vacancy of a nominated member arising under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be filled in as soon as possible in the same manner and for the same term or duration as is mentioned in Section 4.
7. Act of Committee not to be invalidated by vacancy, defect or irregularity. - No act done or proceedings taken, under this Act or the rules made thereunder, by the Committee shall be invalid merely by reason of-
(a) any vacancy or defect in the constitution of Committee; or
(b) any defect or irregularity in the nomination of any person as a member thereof; or
(c) any defect or irregularity in such proceedings not affecting the merit of the case.
8. Vesting and application of Fund. - The Fund shall vest in and he held and applied by the Committee subject to the provisions and for the purposes of this Act.