This is what Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud did for the first time as a lawyer in India

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud announced on Monday how much he was paid when he started his legal career in India.

The CJI was hearing a case on high registration fees charged by the State Bar Association when he observed:

“You are telling an Odia lawyer from a backward district who pays ₹42,000 for registration that they cannot register. When I came back to India to become a lawyer after an SJD (Doctorate) from Harvard, I was paid 60 rupees/4 guineas for my first case…you need to hear the voices of lawyers now too.”

The Bench, which also includes Justice JB Pardiwala, has reserved its judgment in this case. The Court indicated that it would encourage Parliament to reconsider the compensation ceilings.

CJI Chandrachud has time and again urged senior lawyers, especially those in big cities, to pay their juniors well so that they can make ends meet.

He has said that seniors should not treat their juniors as slave laborers just because the former had to learn the law the hard way during their initial days in the profession.

Lawyers paying juniors a decent salary is the only way the bar can be democratised, the CJI has maintained. It will also ensure that people from marginalized communities get adequate opportunities in the profession, he added.