Shillong: The High Court of Meghalaya Bar Association and the Shillong Bar Association leveled serious allegations against Advocate General Amit Kumar on Friday. They claim he charged the state government 1.5 lakh rupees for a single court appearance. This figure sits at nearly seven times the legal limit. Total bills for these services reportedly topped 1 crore rupees.
The legal groups pointed to documents from an anonymous whistleblower. These papers dispute Kumar’s September 3 statement where he denied exceeding standard fees. The official schedule caps his pay at 20,000 rupees for High Court appearances, 40,000 rupees for Supreme Court sessions, and a 50,000 rupee monthly retainer. The billing controversy centers on a Commercial Court case handled between 2021 and 2023.
High Court Bar Association Secretary General Kishore Gautam questioned the lack of oversight. He asked how the state cleared such massive payments without proper scrutiny. Meanwhile, Shillong Bar Association Secretary Trebor Jyrwa accused the government of shielding Kumar from public view. He noted that officials continue to reject RTI requests for payment records, pushing the deadline for disclosure to November 5.
Jyrwa also highlighted separate invoices from Delhi chambers and Indus Law Associates. He specifically cited an arbitration matter where Kumar allegedly billed 1.40 lakh rupees for one day. The prescribed rate for that work is 11,000 rupees. Trebor Jyrwa stated, "The department has sought time till November 5 to obtain Kumar’s consent before disclosing the information."
The associations are holding additional invoices in reserve. They plan to wait for the RTI results before making their next move. Both groups insist this fight is about protecting public funds and forcing accountability, not settling personal grudges.
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