HAMID ALI MIRZA, J.---This is a civil petition for leave to appeal from the judgment, dated 10-11-1998 passed by a learned Division Bench of the Sindh High Court, Karachi, whereby Constitutional petition filed by the petitioner was dismissed.
2. Precise facts of the case are that petitioner, an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, has assailed the demand of contribution of Benevolent Fund by respondent/the Sindh Bar Council and has sought directions against the said respondent to correct its rolls by striking out his name from the Register of Advocates because of his enrolment as an Advocate of the Supreme Court. Prior to the filing of Constitutional petition before the Sindh High Court, petitioner made a representation to the Sindh Bar Council, denying his liability to pay such contribution, and on dismissal of his representation he preferred an appeal before the appellate authority constituted by the Pakistan Bar Council but without any success.
3. The only contention of the petitioner is that in view of section 62 of Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act, 1973, an Advocate-on-Record and Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan, whose name appears on the roll of Advocates Supreme Court maintained by Pakistan Bar Council, is not liable to contribute towards Benevolent Fund Scheme established by Provincial Bar Council for Advocates of High Court and subordinate Courts in that province.
4. Section 62 of the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act, 1973 runs as follows:-- "62. Benevolent Fund.--(1) A Bar Council may establish a fund to be called the Advocates Benevolent Fund.
(2) Where a Bar Council establishes a Benevolent Fund:--
(a) if it be the Pakistan Bar Council, every Advocate of the Supreme Court borne on its roll, and if it be a Provincial Bar Council, every advocate borne on its rolls, shall pay to be Benevolent Fund, annually, monthly or at such other intervals as may be prescribed, such amount as his contribution to the Fund as may be determined by the Bar Council;
(b) the moneys credited into the Fund shall be kept in such bank as may be prescribed;
(c) the Fund shall be utilized in such manners as may be prescribed by the Bar Council for--
(i) the relief of advocates and their families;
(ii) giving financial relief to the families of deceased advocates;
(iii) making grants to advocates on special occasions; and
(iv) defraying expenditure in respect of the management of the Fund.
(3) The provisions of subsection (4) of section 34 shall apply to contributions required to be made to the Benevolent Fund under clause (a) of subsection (2) as if such contributions were an annual fee or instalment of fee payable under that section."
5. The above provisions of law postulate that a Bar Council may establish a Fund to be called "Advocates' Benevolent Fund" and if it be Pakistan Bar Council, every advocate of the Supreme Court borne on its roll, and if it be a Provincial Bar Council, every advocate borne on its roll, shall pay to the Benevolent Fund, annually, monthly or at such other intervals as may be prescribed, such amount as his contribution to the Fund, as may be determined by the Bar Council. Admittedly, petitioner is enrolled on the roll of Sindh Bar Council as Advocate of High Court of Sindh and on the roll of Pakistan Bar Council as advocate of Supreme Court and is entitled to practise in the High Court of Sindh and in the Supreme Court. There is nothing in the above provisions of law that if one is enrolled with Pakistan Bar Council, he would cease to be on the rolls of Provincial Bar Council. The above provisions of law provide that one can remain on the rolls of the Pakistan Bar Council as well as on the rolls of the Provincial Bar Council. There is no indication in the above provision of law that if an Advocate is borne on the roll of Pakistan Bar Council as an Advocate of the Supreme Court, he would be exempt from payment of contribution to the Provincial Bar Benevolent Fund, or that if any scheme for Benevolent Fund for the Advocates of Supreme Court is established by Pakistan Bar Council he would not be liable to pay contribution to the Benevolent Fund of Pakistan Bar Council.
We understand from the above provisions of law that if an Advocate is borne on the rolls of Pakistan Bar Council as well as of Provincial Bar Council, he may not be exempt from payment of contribution to Benevolent Fund to one of such Councils. Section 34 of the Bar Councils Act prescribes payment of separate fees for enrolment as an Advocate of Supreme Court to be fixed after consultation with Supreme Court to be paid to Pakistan Bar Council and fee for enrolment of Advocate of High Court to be fixed in consultation with High Court to be paid to the Provincial Bar Council. The above provisions of section 34 of said Act prescribe that a person to be enrolled as an Advocate of a High Court and person to be enrolled as an Advocate of Supreme Court has to pay enrolment fee separately to the Provincial Bar Council and the Pakistan Bar Council respectively.
Surely above provisions of law do not lay down that a person enrolled as an Advocate of the Supreme Court would cease to be an Advocate of the High Court on being enrolled as an Advocate of Supreme Court.
6. Pakistan Bar Council and other Provincial Bar Councils have to work together within the framework of provisions of the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act wherein each Bar Council has been invested with powers to deal with the affairs of the advocates while Pakistan Bar Council being appellate and supervisory body of all the Provincial Bar Councils stands on higher pedestal.
Every Bar Council is a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal with power to acquire and hold property, both movable and immovable, and to contract, and shall, by the name by which it is known, sue and be sued vide section 3(2) of the said Act. Chapter III of the Act deals with the Provincial Bar Councils, while Chapter IV deals with the Pakistan Bar Council. It may be stated that under section 26 of the said Act, a person qualified for admission as an Advocate is so admitted on payment of enrolment fee and on fulfilling all other conditions as may be prescribed by the Pakistan Bar Council. Section 62 of the said Act provides for payment of the Benevolent Fund to the Bar Council by the enrolled advocates with the Provincial Bar Council.
Sections 55 and 56 of the said Act authorise Pakistan Bar Council and a Provincial Bar Council respectively to make rules, among others, for constitution of separate funds for special purposes. It would thus appear that an Advocate of A a High Court on his enrolment with Pakistan Bar Council as an Advocate of the Supreme Court would not cease to be the Advocate of the High Court and may not be exempted from contributing towards the Benevolent Fund established by the Provincial Bar Council. In all fairness it would not be appropriate on the part of the advocate to practise before the High Court, but refuse to contribute towards the Benevolent Fund which is established for the welfare of advocates on the ground that he has got himself enrolled as an Advocate of the Supreme Court. There appears to be no moral or legal justification to claim such exemption.
6. In view of the aforesaid reasonings and circumstances, we do not find any substance and merit in the petition, therefore, leave is refused and the petition is dismissed.