NEW DELHI, MARCH 8: Lt Governor Vijai Kapoor on Wednesday asked the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) to submit the composition of a negotiating team in an effort to end the two-week-old lawyers' strike.The development came a day after more than 13,000 lawyers from various states courted arrest in protest against the February 24 police crackdown and demanded that officials responsible for the incident be suspended immediately.Lawyers have formed a seven-member committee to negotiate with the Government. It comprises of DHCBA president Amarjit Singh Chandioke, Bar Council of Delhi members K K Sud and Surya Prakash, secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association Priya Hingorani, president of the New Delhi Bar Association K K Sareen, secretary of the Delhi Bar Association Rajiv Khosla and secretary of the Shahdara Bar Association Surinder Sharma.Among those being held responsible for the incident are Deputy Commissioner of Police Pranab Nanda and Assistant Commissioners of Police T S Bhalla and Vijay Malik. Lawyers are also demanding the transfer of Joint Commissioner R K Niyogi.Kapoor has already directed Divisional Commissioner S P Aggarwal to conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit his report within three weeks. Recently, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit wrote to Home Minister L K Advani and Kapoor, saying strict action should be taken against erring officials.On February 24, nearly 12,000 advocates from all over the country had marched to the Parliament House to present a memorandum to Prime Minister A B Vajpayee. But police had put three layers of metal barricades opposite Parliament Street Police Station and jammed the road with heavy vehicles.It is still unclear how the trouble started but more than 80 protestors were injured as police burst tear gas shells, fired rubber bullets and used water cannons to disperse them. Several of them suffered multiple injuries, some even in their eyes. Lawyers claim the police crackdown on protesting lawyers was unprovoked, brutal and inhuman.The DHCBA has called for an inquiry under the Commission of Inquiry Act headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or a division bench of the High Court. If the Government does not suspend erring police officials, another demonstration by lawyers from all over India will be held outside Parliament Street Police Station on March 19 when US President Bill Clinton arrives here.Lawyers began a country-wide strike about two weeks ago to protest against the controversial amendments to the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) which were approved by Parliament last year but are yet to be notified. They are also bitter about proposed changes to the Advocates Act 1961 which seeks to allow foreign firms to practice in India besides making a formal written examination mandatory for lawyers every five years.The Government has assured that all bar councils and associations would be consulted before decisions on these matters are finalised. There are divergent views on the issue among the five lakh lawyers across the country. Some say the objective of these amendments is to simplify and expedite the process of justice. The reforms will introduce much-needed accountability and seriousness into the legal process and reap the benefits of technological advancement, they say.The basic aim of the amendments is to shorten the period of trial and reduce the burden on the parties to the suits, they say.The law commission has circulated a working paper which says India is a party to the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT). Within five years from January 1, 1995 it is under obligation to enter into successive rounds of negotiations periodically to achieve a progressively higher level of liberalisation which includes free trade and services. The Government says it will consult the Bar Council of India (BCI) before taking any final decision.
