Chandigarh: Lawyers protest FIR against their fellow with no work, leave litigants harassed

People who had come to court for hearing of their cases on Monday were miffed; district bar association president says protest by suspending work gets authorities’ attention.

The suspension of work by lawyers in Chandigarh on Monday to protest against the first information report (FIR) registered against lawyer of Dera Sacha Sauda chief, SK Garg Narwana, in an alleged land grab case added to the plight of litigants due to frequent no work days called by the lawyers.

Protesting lawyers at the Chandigarh district courts in Sector 43 on Monday. (HT Photo)

Besides protesting against the lodging of FIR against lawyers, the District Bar Association (DBA), Chandigarh, has held no work day on multiple occasions in the last one year.

Given the increasing number of times lawyers have been boycotting work at the Chandigarh district courts, Sector 43, it has now become a joke among the court staff, police officials and even some members of the lawyer community about how they need a simple excuse to suspend work.

Reasons to suspend work

Here are some of the reasons for suspending work: In order to express disappointment over administration not declaring holiday in district courts on certain festivals, lawyers called off work. On three occasions — October, November and December — the latest in January 2018, the bar association suspended work when a judicial magistrate first class (JMIC) allegedly spoke in a rude way to a lawyer. In another case, another JMIC pronounced an order in the morning and when the defence counsel raised concern on it, the magistrate spoke rudely, post which work was suspended in March 2017.

As a mark of respect, work is also called off when a lawyer passes away. However, many have criticised the move stating that this only happens when a senior lawyer passes away and the rule doesn’t apply to all.

‘Roster of proxy counsels is made’

AK Verma, 69, man from Delhi had come to JMIC court here on Monday. Wth frustration writ large on his face, he said, “This is my third trip in the last one week and the court was to pronounce order in my civil matter today, but I’ve been waiting for my counsel since morning and then I heard of work being suspended.”

Rakhi Sharma, 23, a student of a local college, said she skipped classes to attend a hearing in a case against her father, only to know that the matter had to be adjourned due to strike.

However, District Bar Association, Chandigarh, has a different story to tell. Aditi Shereon, joint secretary, DBA, said “A roster of proxy counsels is made each time work is called off so that they can appear on behalf of the lawyers.

Ravinder Bassi, Bar president, believes other modes of protest don’t invite as speedy a response as suspending work does, be it wearing black bands, blocking roads to mention a few.

Shereon said, ”Unlike doctors, cops who have senior authorities to raise their concerns, lawyers are independent. If we go to the district judge, we are told the judiciary is independent of the lawyers.”

A senior advocate, on condition of anonymity, said, “No lawyer, at least at district courts is paid on per hearing basis. These are stupid excuses.”

The owner at one of the canteens at Sector 43 courts, said, “In the past four years, never have so many strikes been held, to the extent that it has impacted our business here.”

High court lawyers’ protest too

Notwithstanding the minor instances of suspension of work for half a day or few hours, at least four major instances of work strike at the high court have come to the fore since July 2016. No work could be transacted at high court from July 16 to July 19 in protest against arrest of a high court lawyer Jatin Salwan in a ‘drug plant case’. In October 2017, a Chandigarh court framed charges against the lawyer in the said case.

Then on January 25, 2017, high court lawyers suspended work after murder of a lawyer in Hisar. In fact, most courts did not function on that day in Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana on the call given by Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana in protest against the murder.

On April 21, when lawyers of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh courts, including high court, boycotted work in the afternoon in response to the nationwide protest call given by Bar Council of India against the amendments proposed by the Centre in the Advocates Act 1961.

On Monday, high court lawyers abstained from work alleging frame up of senior advocate SK Garg Narwana in a property dispute case by Panchkula police.