Maintenance order passed after 8 years, but advocate withholding papers and not executing order — what are my options?
I have a maintenance case in India where the court finally passed an order in my favor after almost 8 years. The problem is my advocate is not taking the matter forward for execution/recovery of the maintenance amount.
He is demanding a huge amount of money from me. I am willing to pay reasonable fees if he actually executes the order, but he keeps saying he cannot guarantee when or whether the order will be executed.
Another issue is that all my original case papers and even the copy of the order are with him. He never allowed me to keep or handle the documents after taking my signatures during the case process.
Now I feel completely stuck.
Can an advocate legally refuse to hand over my case papers/order copy? The order was passed in beginning of 2025 but no progress after that.
How can I change my advocate in this situation?
What steps can I take if the advocate is delaying intentionally or pressuring for money?
Would really appreciate guidance from anyone who has dealt with something similar.