Delhi High Court adjourns plea seeking to end lawyers strike.

Source – newindianexpress.com

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday adjourned hearing on a plea seeking court’s intervention to ensure that judicial proceedings in District courts of Delhi are not disrupted.

The plea filed by Advocate Ajay Gautam was listed before a division bench of the High Court presided by Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Harishankar. The court has posted the matter for hearing on February 11 next year.

The plea sought court’s direction to Registrar General of Delhi High Court to immediately take remedial/effective steps to ensure that judicial proceedings in District courts of Delhi are not disrupted.

The petition also sought court’s directions to the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) to launch appropriate action against Advocates who are forcibly stopping litigants and/or other Advocates from appearing before courts.

Gautam through his plea also sought suspension of the office bearers of the Bar Associations who have passed a resolution for abstaining from judicial work.

“Courts are made for litigants and not for the Advocates or police; Advocates represent litigants/Clients and police helps in the investigation to get justice. None of them has the right to stop litigants from appearing in court,” the plea said.

“The advocates of different district courts went on strike and beat up the litigants, police and general public for no fault of theirs. Thousands of Litigants/Citizens have been stopped from defending their cases and appearing in court. In fact, the atmosphere which is prevailing in courts is no less than anarchy and chaos,” the court said further.

A minor argument between a lawyer and some policemen over parking at the Tis Hazari court complex on November 2 resulted in violence and arson and left a lawyer with a bullet injury.

The police alleged that the advocates assaulted them and set ablaze some police vehicles.

“Twenty police officials, including one Additional DCP and two SHOs sustained injuries. Eight advocates also sustained injuries. In the fire, 12 private motorcycles, one QRT gypsy of the police and eight jail vans outside the lock-up were damaged,” the police said.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising officials of the Crime Branch and headed by Joint Commissioner of Police (Jt.CP) will be formed to probe the sequence of events. Action will be taken on the findings of the SIT.