Lawyers’ strike: 7-judge bench issue notices to bar bodies, govt

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and comprising Justices Rakesh Tiwari, Rajesh Kumar, V K Shukla, Arun Tandon, Tarun Agarwal and Dilip Gupta issued the notices on Tuesday and fixed April 7 as the next date of hearing in the matter.

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While a detailed order is yet to be made available, Chief Standing Counsel Ramesh Upadhyaya confirmed the development. “The matter was taken cognisance of by a bench of seven judges, led by the Chief Justice on Tuesday, and notices were issued,” said Upadhyaya.
The court has sought replies on various issues including installation of the CCTV cameras and giving bio-metric cards to lawyers and other employees to ensure entry of only genuine persons in the court complex.

It is understood that the bench was of the opinion that while security was essential for smooth functioning of the courts, the fact that the Supreme Court has declared strike as illegal cannot be ignored. The strike also impinged directly on the court’s duty to administer justice.
It may be recalled that pitched violence had broken out between the lawyers and the police on March 11 in Allahabad, after Sub-Inspector Shailendra Singh allegedly shot dead 32-year-old advocate, Nabi Ahmed in district court premises. The SI has since been arrested.

The AHCBA had given a strike call after the incident, but had called it off within a couple of days after most of the demands were met.
The Allahabad District Bar Association (ADBA) has, however, continued with the strike demanding removal of the DM and the SSP. Most of the other demands, including CBI inquiry and enhanced compensation to the family of the deceased lawyers have been met by the state government. However, Ahmed’s family has returned the cheque and refused to accept it.

On the other hand, Justice P K S Baghel is conducting an inquiry into the March 11 incident, on the lawyers’ demand.

ADBA president Sheetala Prasad Mishra said: “We are yet to get the order in this regard. However, at this point, we have neither reviewed any previous decision nor taken any new one”. Mishra refused to comment on whether or not the lawyers have conducted legal work since Tuesday.

However, reports from the district court indicated lawyers had not joined work. A delegation had also met Commissioner on Tuesday seeking the DM and the SSP’s transfer.