Today, the supreme court refused to entertain the petition filed by advocate Sachin Sharma regarding seeking a direction to the Government to formulate an appropriate scheme to support advocates from paying their rent, exclusively for the professional premises during the lockdown and observed that special treatment cannot be given to the advocates.
After the Court declined the petition, the petitioner has withdrawn the petition and stated that we will withdraw the petition and send the same to the Government.
In this petition, the petitioner had pointed out that many lawyers pay rent for their professional premises/rented office space during the lockdown period, even when they are suffering from the loss of income due to loss of work, but now it’s become difficult for those lawyers who were dependent on their regular income.
Due to lockdown, many lawyers are unable to earn their livelihood. Most of the courts are closed and also not functioning during this period. Hence, in these circumstances, it will not be easy to pay rent especially for those professionals who are not able to earn anything for their livelihood.
Mr. Kailash Vasdev, appearing for the Supreme Court Bar Association stated that the Court must consider the prayer that non-payment of rent shall not lead to eviction for lawyers.
The petitioner also stated that the non-payment of rent should not be the ground for the eviction of the tenant during the lockdown. Further, the petition argued that the Central Govt. should frame a beneficial and appropriate scheme for the support of advocates to pay rent for their professional premises during the lockdown, as it has done for students and laborers.
After the observation, the Supreme Court refused to entertain the petition to frame the appropriate scheme to support advocates from paying their rent and said lawyers cannot be given special treatment.