Lawyers went on a strike on Thursday against the government's decision to charge rent for their chambers in the court complex here. They demanded withdrawal of the decision.
"Chambers in the court complex have been built by the contribution of the lawyers themselves and charging rent for them is totally uncalled-for," said Sunil Kumar Bansal, a senior advocate in the district court.
Lawyers of sub-divisional courts of Budhlada and Sirdulgarh also supported the strike. Lawyers expressed concern over the absence of proper allotment of space for them in courts.
"Even if you see the chamber, each one is occupied by two lawyers, which is unacceptable to us. Two lawyers can't practice under the same roof; we need separate chambers for every lawyer," said Vijay Kumar Singla, president of the Bar Association.
The government is charging Rs 50 as rent from the lawyers for their chamber. Lawyers are basically opposing this move citing the reason that the government has no right asking for rent when they have not done enough to provide a separate block (building) for lawyers in the court complex.
"The government has spent Rs 1.5 crore in constructing the alternative dispute redressal centre within the judicial complex which has been occupied by 3-4 people which is of no use. The money could have been well spent on constructing lawyers' chambers," said Bansal.
The lawyers announced that they will be meeting senior judicial officers on July 26 during the inauguration of the court in Sardulgarh. Sessions judge JS Khushdil was not available for comments on the ongoing strike which will continue till Friday.
{{/usCountry}}The lawyers announced that they will be meeting senior judicial officers on July 26 during the inauguration of the court in Sardulgarh. Sessions judge JS Khushdil was not available for comments on the ongoing strike which will continue till Friday.
{{/usCountry}}