Central government hikes fees for advocates after 11 years

The Union Law Ministry has increased the fees for advocates representing the central government in courts across the country, nearly 11 years after the last revision.

In a notification issued on February 5 , the Department of Legal Affairs said that Group ‘A’ counsels appearing for regular appeals and defended petitions for final hearing will now receive Rs 21,600 per case per day. Fees for Group ‘B’ and ‘C ’ counsels have been increased to Rs 14,400 per case per day. Earlier, these stood at Rs 13,500 for Group A and Rs 9,000 for Group B and C.

The fee for other categories of cases, including meetings and conferences with central ministries, has also been revised. Advocates appearing in courts outside their headquarters Delhi or state capitals will similarly see higher remuneration.

A senior official noted that the hike was long overdue, given inflation and rising professional costs. Former Union Law Secretary Anju Rathi Rana , now Member Secretary of the Law Commission, welcomed the move, saying on X, “The fee revision notification for central government counsel, an exercise initiated during my tenure, has come into effect. This was long overdue and essential to retain talented advocates for the Union government.”

It is important to note that this fee hike applies only to advocates representing the central government and does not automatically cover state government counsels, who have separate fee structures set by their respective states.

Besides law officers such as the Attorney General, Solicitor General, and Additional Solicitors General, the central government also engages private advocates to represent it in judicial forums.