In Brief

Four insurance companies challenged a Punjab & Haryana High Court judgment that, in a suo moto Public Interest Litigation, directed them to pay advocates' fees according to GIPSA's 2004 circular (Rs. 7,500) rather than their modified 2005 circular (Rs. 5,000–6,000), and to pay 7% interest on overdue amounts. The Supreme Court partly allowed the appeals, holding that adjudicating a contractual fee dispute regarding a circular already superseded by 2009 and 2014 schedules—which both companies and advocates accepted without objection—was beyond the proper scope of PIL and contrary to its public-interest objective. The Court set aside the directions regarding the 2004 circular and interest, but clarified that payments already made under the 2005 circular are final. The companies must continue adhering to the 2009 and 2014 schedules."

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