Ghaziabad incident: HC, district court lawyers to boycott work on Nov 4

Lawyers of Oudh Bar Association (OBA) of the Lucknow high court bench and Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HBCA) of the Allahabad high court will boycott work on Monday in protest against the October 29 cane charge on advocates in Ghaziabad district court.

In an emergency meeting convened on Sunday, the OBA decided to support the statewide boycott call given by the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh. “We will boycott court proceedings on November 4 in protest against cane charge on advocates in Ghaziabad,” said OBA general secretary Manoj Kumar Dwivedi.

The OBA has also demanded action against the cops who carried out the cane charge. Lawyers of the Allahabad high court will also abstain from work. Meanwhile, office-bearers of several lawyers’ bodies from across the state were present in another meeting convened by the Central Bar Association and the Lucknow Bar Association of the district court on Sunday.

“A delegation of the Joint Bar Association will go to Ghaziabad to probe the incident,” said Amresh Pal Singh, general secretary, Central Bar Association. Lawyers’ bodies have constituted the Joint Bar Association, a body comprising members from the Bar Associations from across the state, to probe the Ghaziabad incident.

The Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh has given a call for a statewide demonstration and work boycott on Monday to express their resentment over cane charge on advocates on the Ghaziabad court campus.

The Bar Council has also constituted a five-member committee to probe the incident and submit its report. The incident took place on October 29 inside the courtroom of the district judge of Ghaziabad during the hearing of a bail-related case.

Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court Bar Association has demanded immediate suspension of the district judge of Ghaziabad and also of the concerned police officers. Besides, it also demanded compensation to the injured lawyers in a meeting held on Sunday evening. Bar president Anil Tiwari presided over the meeting conducted by HCBA secretary Vikrant Pandey.

In the meeting, it was also decided that a criminal contempt petition will be filed on behalf of HCBA against district judge Anil Kumar–X in this connection. Lawyers and baton-wielding police personal came to blows in courtroom in Ghaziabad last Tuesday after the district judge called the force to remove protesting lawyers raising slogan against him after a disagreement.

Some of the lawyers alleged that they suffered injuries as police personnel used batons on them even as police officials alleged that the agitating advocates set a police outpost on fire.