UP Advocates to Get ₹5 Lakh Cashless Health Cover: Yogi Announces Major Welfare and Technology Push for Lawyers
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a ₹5 lakh cashless medical insurance facility for practising advocates across the state, marking a major expansion of welfare support for the legal fraternity. The announcement was made on September 14 at a programme organised by the Allahabad High Court Bar Association in Prayagraj.
Under the proposed scheme, advocates practising in the Allahabad High Court and district courts will be eligible for cashless medical treatment of up to ₹5 lakh. The move is aimed at providing greater financial protection to lawyers and their families against the rising cost of medical treatment.
The announcement was one of several measures unveiled by the chief minister for the legal community. Yogi also said that financial assistance under the Advocate Welfare Fund has been increased from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh. The age limit for families seeking assistance after the death of an advocate has also been raised from 60 to 70 years.
A major technology-related decision involves 400 state law officers. The government will provide them with tablets to enable quicker access to information and records relating to government cases pending before courts. The move is intended to strengthen digital access and make the work of government counsel more efficient.
Yogi also reiterated that fees of government lawyers in Uttar Pradesh have already been increased by more than 50 percent. The latest announcements therefore combine medical protection, financial assistance and technological support for different sections of the state’s legal profession.
Infrastructure for lawyers was another key part of the announcement. The chief minister said facilities including multi-level parking and chambers have been developed for more than 10,000 advocates at the Allahabad High Court premises. He further assured that the state government would support proposals for furniture and essential equipment for these chambers.
The government has put the cost of the chambers already constructed for advocates at around ₹700 crore, according to the chief minister’s remarks reported by the Times of India. The initiative is intended to address longstanding infrastructure requirements for lawyers working around the High Court.
The announcements also come against the backdrop of a wider push toward technology in the justice system. Yogi pointed to the use of online platforms for prosecution-related work, including timely charge-sheet filing and the presentation of scientific evidence. He said lawyers increasingly need to understand areas such as cybercrime, artificial intelligence, data privacy, digital commerce, fintech, intellectual property and climate litigation.
The chief minister linked the modernization of the legal profession with the broader objective of reducing delays in the justice system. He highlighted measures including internet connectivity and video-conferencing facilities in district courts and jails, along with digitalisation of court documents and virtual recording of evidence.
Yogi also used the occasion to stress the constitutional and social responsibilities of lawyers. He urged the younger generation of advocates to look beyond professional success and act as guardians of constitutional values and as responsible participants in delivering justice at the grassroots level.
The chief minister also contrasted the present situation with conditions before 2017, claiming that Uttar Pradesh had faced major vacancies in the police force as well as shortcomings in judicial infrastructure and administrative accountability. He said police training capacity had subsequently increased from around 3,000 personnel at a time to 60,000 personnel annually.
The programme was attended by Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Arun Bhansali, senior judge Justice Arindam Sinha, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, Advocate General Ajay Kumar Misra and senior representatives of the High Court Bar Association. Yogi also symbolically handed over the keys of the newly constructed Advocate Building during the event.
Taken together, the announcements represent a three-pronged package for Uttar Pradesh’s legal fraternity: ₹5 lakh cashless health protection for advocates, technology support for 400 state law officers, and infrastructure assistance for more than 10,000 lawyers. The measures also signal an attempt to connect advocate welfare with the state’s broader programme of digitisation and modernisation of justice delivery.
