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Delhi HC Bar urges members to wear black ribbons to protest LG’s video testimony order
The order designated all 226 police stations in the Capital as video-conferencing centres for officers to provide evidence to “improve efficiency and save time”
The Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHBCA) on Wednesday urged its members to wear black ribbons as a mark of protest until the lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena withdrew the August 13 notification allowing police officers to depose before courts via video conferencing.
The notification designated all 226 police stations in the Capital as video-conferencing centres for officers to provide evidence in line with the draft model rules of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to “improve efficiency and save time”.
DHBCA’s joint secretary, Kunal Malhotra, requested the members to wear black ribbons while appearing in the court.
Lawyers have been holding protests against the notification across Delhi’s district courts. The Coordination Committee of Delhi’s district court bar associations called for abstaining from work on Friday and Saturday.
Lawyers held a sit-in outside court complexes on Monday and boycotted proceedings on Tuesday and Wednesday, alleging that the move facilitates the manipulation of evidence and erodes fair trial.
The DHBCA on Friday last condemned the order. The Supreme Court Bar Association called the notification a threat to judicial independence. On Monday, the Bar Council of India wrote to Saxena seeking immediate withdrawal, warning that such testimony undermines judicial control over proceedings and increases the risk of procedural errors.
A petition has been filed in the high court against the notification. Advocate Kapil Madan, the petitioner, said that the move undermines the solemnity of judicial proceedings, violates the right to a fair trial, and tilts the adversarial balance in favour of the prosecution.
