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Push for unified bar at Agra civil court hits a roadblock
Agra Bar Association president Subhash Parmar has announced that a vote will be held on January 13 to determine the course of action.
Efforts to create a unified Bar at Agra civil court took a hit as a meeting on the ‘one court campus – one bar’ proposal, held on Friday at the Agra Bar Association Hall, was disrupted by conflicting opinions. The meeting, intended to gather support for merging multiple bar associations at the Civil Court, ended without consensus.
Agra Bar Association president Subhash Parmar has announced that a vote will be held on January 13 to determine the course of action.
Currently, the Agra Civil Court campus houses over half a dozen bar associations, which has led to fragmentation within the legal community. This disunity has often been seen as a barrier to effectively voicing the concerns of lawyers. Advocates pressing for a high court bench in Agra have pushed for the establishment of a single, unified platform. To address this, an action committee for the establishment of a high court bench was formed, emphasising the need for a unified bar.
Parmar, the president of the 185-year-old Bar Association, which boasts the best infrastructure and facilities, including a library and other basic amenities, called for a meeting on Friday to discuss the unification of the bars, encouraging members to share their views.
While many lawyers at the meeting voiced their support for the proposal, the gathering became chaotic after objections were raised over the participation of non-members, leading to conflicting opinions. As a result, Parmar called off the meeting and announced that a poll would be conducted on January 13 at the Agra Bar Hall to allow members to express their stance.
Vijay Pal Singh Chauhan, a senior advocate, stressed the importance of a unified bar, citing the inefficiency of current welfare schemes due to the division of bar associations. He pointed out that the UP Bar Council supports the creation of one or two bar associations at the district level, rather than multiple entities.
However, opposition to the proposal surfaced within the Agra Bar Association itself. Ram Prakash Sharma, the former secretary and current junior vice president, resigned in protest on Friday, citing the unwillingness of other bar associations to merge.
