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Legal Aid Defence Counsel System: Striking lawyers to resume work from Monday
The announcement was made late at night on Thursday after a meeting between Punjab and Haryana high court acting chief justice and members of Joint Action Committee (JAC)
Lawyers on Thursday announced that their agitation against the Legal Aid Defence Counsel System (LADCS) policy has been deferred and normal work will resume in the courts of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh from Monday.
The announcement was made late at night on Thursday after a meeting between Punjab and Haryana high court acting chief justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and members of Joint Action Committee (JAC) formed by different Bars of the two states and Chandigarh.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the JAC said judges had assured to rectify deficiencies in the policy and prepare an SOP for its implementation. A meeting has also been arranged between JAC members and Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday on the issue.
The policy, notified by the National Legal Services Authority in 2022, is aimed at giving access to justice to accused individuals who cannot afford to engage lawyers.
For 30 days now, judicial work has been suspended in some courts of Punjab and Haryana. The high court had intervened on July 20, acting on a PIL by a lawyer, and hoped that “wiser heads will prevail” and the issue will be resolved amicably without judicial intervention. However, despite three hearings, the deadlock did not end.
Lawyers argue the policy is against lawyers and also detrimental to litigants. Both prosecutor and defence counsels are being appointed by government. They are appointed by courts at any stage of trials, they say, adding that due to this, quality of work was getting affected. Meanwhile, Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association also decided to suspend work till Monday in support of the “no work” call given by district Bars.
