Litigants suffer as lawyers still on strike

Dozen of litigants who visited the district courts on Friday were at the receiving end as work remained suspended due to the ongoing strike of the District Bar Association.

As members of the association remained determined to continue with the indefinite strike while demanding action against Punjab police officials for the alleged inaction in a road accident case in which a Bar member had died in January,the litigants were turned away as several lawyers did not report to work.

The suspension of work without prior notice left litigants in a dilemma as they reported for the hearings of their cases. A litigant who had come from Himachal Pradesh was shocked to know that work was suspended on Friday.

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Lawyers proceeding on strikes without any notice causes unnecessary harassment to litigants, the Himachal resident remarked after he was asked to leave the courtroom.

Even a few lawyers were unaware of the strike call given by the Bar Association. I was told by a fellow member that it was a no-work day today and there was a Rs 5,000 penalty for violating the call, a lawyer said.

Amrit Pal Singh and Shelly Sharma,who were on hunger strike for the second day today,meanwhile,said they were determined to fight for justice for their friend.

We would continue the strike until the police took concrete action against the erring cops, said Amrit.

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In a press release issued here today,the Bar members also termed the suspension of one of the four policemen against whom action has been sought a mere eye-wash.

We want action against all four police officials who played a biased and nefarious role in the entire episode. It has also been noticed that the suspension order against one assistant sub-inspector has been passed by a DSP-level officer,who has no power to pass the suspension, it said.

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