The High Court has issued a rule regarding the determination of reasonable and uniform entry fees for new members across the district bar associations of the country.
On Monday, a High Court bench comprising Justice Khizir Ahmed Choudhury and Md Ziaul Haque passed the order.
The court has sought an explanation as to why Bangladesh Bar Council should not be directed to fix a reasonable and uniform fee for new members in all district bar associations.
The law secretary, the secretary of Bangladesh Bar Council, the attorney general, and other relevant respondents have been asked to respond to the rule within two weeks.
The legal challenge was initiated by Mahfuzur Rahman, who, after passing the advocacy examination of Bangladesh Bar Council, sought membership at Kurigram District Bar Association.
He discovered that the entry fee for applicants up to the age of 40 was set at Tk2.5 lakh, while for those over 40, the fee ranged from Tk3.5 to Tk5 lakh.
Representing the petitioner, Advocate Shibli Nomani argued during the hearing that the entry fees for membership at Supreme Court Bar Association and the Dhaka Bar Association are less than Tk30,000.
Challenging the validity of high fees at Kurigram Bar, Mahfuzur Rahman subsequently filed the writ petition.
