Kerala High Court Orders NCTE To Pay ₹12.11 Lakh Pending Legal Fees To Late Advocate’s Family, Imposes ₹50K Cost
A petition was filed by his son who sought the court’s intervention after the NCTE allegedly failed to pay dues.
Justice Mohammed Nias CP, Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court has directed the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) to settle outstanding legal fees amounting to over ₹12.11 lakhs, payable to a late Advocate.
The directive comes following a petition filed by his son who sought the court’s intervention after the NCTE allegedly failed to pay dues despite repeated follow-ups and submission of detailed invoices.
Advocate served as standing counsel for the NCTE from 2000 until his death in 2018. During this period, he represented the agency in approximately 590 cases. Despite his extensive legal service, a substantial portion of his professional fees remained unpaid, some of which dated as far back as 2004.
A Bench of Justice Mohammed Nias CP emphasized the foundational principle of fair compensation in the legal profession. It added, "The fair payment to the Advocates is essential to ensure the independence, dignity and non- subordination of the legal profession and is also quintessential to maintain the ethical integrity. Non-payment or arbitrary denial of fees leads to exploitation of legal professionalism, which hinders access to justice. A reading of the (BCI) rules and the interpretation thereof leaves no doubt that, if a client agrees to pay and then refuses after receiving services, such conduct is unjustifiable and condemnable."
The Court condemned the conduct of the NCTE, calling its refusal to honor agreed payments "unjustifiable and blameworthy." In addition to directing the NCTE to pay the full outstanding amount within two months, the Court imposed an additional cost of ₹50,000 to be paid to the petitioner.
Advocate Jacob Sebastian appeared for the petitioner and Standing Counsel Advocate Abraham P. Meachinkara appeared for the Respondents.
The NCTE’s defense relied on internal guidelines, which it claimed governed how bills should be formatted and how payments would be contingent upon the availability of funds. However, the petitioner contested the retrospective application of such guidelines, asserting that they should not affect invoices submitted prior to December 2017.
The Court rejected the NCTE's arguments and said, "In the instant case, there is no dispute that there was an engagement by NCTE. There is no dispute that 590 cases have been disposed of. There is no allegation that the lawyer concerned had not appeared or that the cases had not been disposed of. Only ten cases are shown where the NCTE is not a party. Under such circumstances, there is no justification at all for non-payment of the agreed fees to the petitioner for the services rendered."
The Court also addressed a procedural objection raised by the NCTE, which challenged the maintainability of the writ petition. The Court referencing precedents from the Supreme Court and various High Courts, clarified that writ petitions seeking payment for professional services rendered to public bodies are indeed maintainable under Article 226 of the Constitution, even if some facts are disputed.
In conclusion, the Court held the NCTE accountable for its inaction and ordered full payment of dues along with an additional cost as a deterrent against similar conduct in the future.
Cause Title: Mathew B Kurian v. National Council For Teacher Education & Ors., [2025:KER:35819]
