The Allahabad High Court has issued a show cause notice to the President and Secretary of the District Bar Association, Prayagraj, demanding an explanation for their alleged interference with judicial administration through frequent strikes.
The court aims to understand why they should not face criminal contempt proceedings for undermining court authority. The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for July 8, 2024.
The President and Secretary will receive the notice through the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Prayagraj.
Additionally, the court has directed the Registrar General to gather reports from all District Judges in the state, detailing the impact of lawyers’ strikes on the number of working days from July 2023 to April 2024.
A bench comprising Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Mohd. Azhar Husain Idrisi issued this order.
The bench was hearing a criminal contempt petition initiated by the Chief Justice based on a report submitted by the District Judge of Prayagraj.
Advocate Sudhir Mehrotra represented the High Court in this matter.
Lawyers’ strikes significantly disrupted judicial work, as indicated by the District Judge’s report. It affected 127 out of 218 working days between 1 July 2023, and 30 April 2024.
This amounts to 58.26 percent of the working days lost to strikes, leaving only 41.74 percent of the days productive.
The Chief Justice took note of this report on 29 May 2024, in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Harish Uppal case.
The Supreme Court had declared that lawyers do not have the right to abstain from judicial work or go on strike, deeming such actions as contempt of court and professional misconduct.
Following this precedent, the Chief Justice registered the case and brought it before the court, seeking explanations from the President and Secretary of the District Bar Association.
The court has also sought cooperation from the Bar Council of India, New Delhi, the Uttar Pradesh Bar Council, Prayagraj, the High Court Bar Association, and the Advocates’ Association to address this issue.
The Allahabad High Court’s decisive action highlights the judiciary’s firm stance against disruptions caused by strikes and emphasizes the importance of uninterrupted judicial functioning for the administration of justice.
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