The Allahabad High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of an incident involving assault, vandalism and disruption of proceedings by a group of lawyers in Courtroom No. 49 on October 28, 2026.
A division bench of Justices Ajay Bhanot and Divesh Chandra Samant passed an order on October 29. The judges said the incident prima facie attracted criminal contempt proceedings and criminal charges.
According to the bench, several lawyers raised slogans and disrupted proceedings before the hearing began. Their actions forced the court to adjourn.
After the court rose, a group allegedly assaulted Additional Government Advocate (First) Paritosh Kumar Malviya inside the courtroom. He reached the judge’s chamber with a swollen face and sought protection. He alleged that the attackers threatened him for representing the state.
Other government advocates and court staff confirmed the incident. The attackers allegedly damaged furniture and assaulted security personnel.
The bench traced the dispute to an October 27 letter from newly elected Bar Association president Dr CP Upadhyay and general secretary Santosh Kumar Mishra. It described several allegations in the letter as misleading or false. The judges said its inflammatory language contributed to the violence.
The court raised concerns over misleading social media posts that damaged the High Court’s reputation. It said people can criticise judicial decisions but cannot use free speech to justify personal attacks or threats against judges.
The bench warned that the criminalisation of the Bar was weakening the foundations of the justice system.
It directed criminal contempt proceedings against the lawyers concerned and asked the Chief Justice to consider directing the Registrar General to file FIRs over the violence, conspiracy, vandalism and misleading online posts.
The bench praised advocate VP Srivastava and government lawyers for defending judicial proceedings. It stressed the state’s responsibility to protect its law officers.
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