Faced with repeated cases where  lawyers could not  afford emergency medical care, the Allahabad High Court has initiated a suo motu Public Interest Litigation(PIL). The Court is looking into the lack of a statewide insurance system for advocates. 

A  Division Bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla converted individual petitions  into a broader  Public Interest Litigation, noting that giving relief case by case was not enough.

 Incidents That Triggered Action:

The Allahabad High Court initiated the suo motu PIL after repeated incidents showed how vulnerable lawyers in Uttar Pradesh are.

In 2024, advocate Hari Prasad Gupta filed a PIL seeking financial help for State Law Officer Neeraj Chaurasia, who was seriously injured in a road accident and could not afford medical treatment.

 Two years later, in April 2026, another application was filed concerning advocate Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, who suffered a brain haemorrhage and faced the same financial difficulties. These repeated incidents highlighted  a serious gap in medical security for members of the Bar, which led the Court to step in.

Earlier Direction Ignored:

The Court had already pointed  out this issue on May 30, 2024, when it told the State to create an insurance plan for government-panel lawyers. Since no real progress was made, the bench has now taken a stricter step by making  its earlier advice  a binding judicial direction.

For immediate relief,  the court  directed the Oudh Bar Association to consider giving financial help from its welfare funds for advocate Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary’s medical treatment. The Division Bench noted that many lawyers face serious financial problems during medical emergencies and said that giving help only in individual cases is not enough.

Court Steps In:

Since the State did not act on its earlier direction, the judges decided it was necessary for the Court to take responsibility for the issue.

Long-Term Solution Plan:

For the long‑term solution, the Court included the Oudh Bar Association, the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh, and the Principal Secretary (Law)/Legal Remembrancer of Uttar Pradesh in the newly registered suo motu petition, so that all key institutions can take part when the matter is heard this week.

Case Details :In Re: Suo Motu Insurance Scheme