After 11 years, Centre ups fees for govt. lawyers across courts

Ending an almost decade-long wait, the Union Law Ministry has revised the fees paid to advocates representing the central government in courts across the country, raising remuneration after nearly 11 years.

In a notification issued on February 5, the Department of Legal Affairs said Group ‘A’ counsels appearing in regular appeals and defended petitions for final hearing will now be paid Rs 21,600 per case per day. Group ‘B’ and ‘C’ counsels will receive Rs 14,400 per case per day.

The revision marks a sharp increase from the earlier rates of Rs 13,500 for Group ‘A’ counsels and Rs 9,000 for those in Groups ‘B’ and ‘C’. The last fee revision had taken place in October 2015.


The ministry has also revised fees for other categories of cases, as well as for conferences held with various central ministries. In addition, payments to government counsels appearing in courts outside their headquarters—such as Delhi or state capitals—have also been increased.

A senior official said the revision was long overdue, especially in view of inflation and the rising cost of professional legal services.

Welcoming the move, former Union Law Secretary Anju Rathi Rana said the notification was the culmination of an effort initiated during her tenure.

“The fee revision notification for central government counsel, an exercise initiated during my tenure as Law Secretary, has come into effect. Congratulations to all counsels. This was long overdue, for over a decade. I'm glad the effort has reached its rightful conclusion,” she said in a post on X.

Rana, who is currently the Member Secretary of the Law Commission, added that the hike was essential to retain capable and talented advocates to represent the Union government effectively in courts.

Apart from law officers such as the Attorney General, Solicitor General and Additional Solicitors General, the Centre engages a large pool of advocates as legal counsels to represent it across judicial forums nationwide.