Jahanvi Agarwal
After the suo motu cognizance of the police violence against advocates in Hapur on 4th September 2023, the Allahabad High Court expressed criticism of the Advocates and Bar Councils/Associations strike and absenteeism from work strategies.
The Supreme Court’s verdict on the legislation is final, and the Court expressed hope that the Advocates will reflect and act with appropriate attention to it. Additionally, the Court indicated its desire to avoid having to take any unpleasant measures in the present matter.
In its ruling, the Bench of Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice M C Tripathi stated that:
“Before proceeding further, it is worth noticing that the act of Bar Associations/Councils in resorting to strike has been frowned consistently by this Court and also by the Hon’ble Supreme Court as such acts on part of the lawyers does great damage not only to the litigants but it affects the administration of justice itself which is an important facet of our Constitutional democracy. The representative body of advocates have the right to raise grievance on behalf of their members but it has to be in a manner that the ultimate cause of justice itself is not defeated. As responsible citizens and soldiers of the justice dispensation system, we expect the lawyers and their representative bodies to be conscious of their obligations to the Society at large and act in a responsible manner.”
The Bar Council of U.P. resolved to abstain from conducting any judicial work on August 30, 2023, due to the ongoing lawyer’s strike that resulted from the event in District Hapur. They also agreed to extend their strike for three more days, on September 4, 5, and 6, 2023.
The Allahabad High Court requested that the President and Secretaries of the High Court Bar Association, the Advocates Association, as well as the Chairman and Members of the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh address the Court on this matter in light of the ongoing strike.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the State in the Hapur event has drawn criticism from lawyers, according to Ashok Singh, President of the High Court Bar Association. He emphasized that the State’s attempts appeared one-sided as judicial officials and police were accountable for the atrocities committed against advocates and drew attention to the SIT’s absence of a judicial officer.
Additionally, he claimed that just a single FIR had been filed and that despite the advocates best efforts, their FIR had not yet been registered. Singh said that if the SIT is allowed to move further, it will be unfair to the attorneys since the guilty police officers will be able to decide their own cases.
As a result, taking into account the Bar Association’s motion, the High Court ordered the State Government to include Hari Nath Pandey, Retd. Principal Judge, Family Court, Lucknow, as a member of the SIT.
The Court stated that:
“The SIT will proceed to conduct its enquiry and submit its report in a sealed cover at the earliest possible. An interim report shall be submitted before the Court by the next date fixed.”
However, the Court refused to consider the other demands of the Bar Council of U.P which were as follows:
- Immediate transfer of District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police Hapur.
- A case should be registered against the guilty police personnel who brutally lathi-charged and also beat up women advocates.
- To quash the false and fabricated criminal cases registered against the advocates across the State.
- The Advocates Protection Act should be passed and implemented in the State immediately and
- The injured advocates of Hapur should be compensated immediately.
The Court further directed the Superintendent of Police in Hapur to make sure that the lawyer’s complaint regarding the occurrence was properly registered and investigated as per law.
The NDOH for the said matter has been scheduled by the Court on 15.09.2023. However, a meeting was organised by the president of the High Court Bar Association following the court session held on September 4, 2023.During this meeting, the Bar Association decided to extend their abstention from judicial work to today.
According to the statement issued, High Court Advocates will continue to abstain from judicial work on September 4, 2023, as well as on September 5, 2023, since they are very concerned by the lack of action taken against the accused.
Case Name: In Re v. Bar Council Of U.P
Diary Number: 2099/2023
Bench: Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice M C Tripathi