Work in many courts of Gujarat, including High Court, was affected after the lawyers abstained from work as a mark of protest against the Higher Education and Research (HER) Bill proposed by the union government.
The protest against HER Bill was in response to call by the Bar Council of India (BCI) which has declared July 11 and 12 as 'protest days' across the country.
The Bill, which seeks to regulate legal education system in the country, has been facing strong opposition from the apex lawyer's body which has alleged that it is aimed at usurping the BCI's control over legal education.
"The Bill is aimed at curbing BCI's powers to regulate legal education and profession in the country, hence we have decided to oppose it till it is not withdrawn," said Vijay Patel, President, Gujarat High Court Advocates Association (GHCAA). "The Bill ruins the foundation of Advocates Act, 1961, under which, total autonomy was given to BCI and state Bar Councils to regulate the legal profession and education," he said.
The agitation follows the unanimous resolution passed by Bar Council of Gujarat (BCG) to support the BCI's call to observe "protest days" today and tomorrow. "Every bar associations in Gujarat have passed similar resolutions and on Wednesday over 50 thousand lawyers have abstained from the work," said Dilip Patel, Chairman BCG.
"In Gujarat all 212 bar associations have declared their support to the protest call and they are determined to abstained from the work for two days," he added.
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During agitation in major cities like Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Surat, lawyers burnt the copies of Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011 as a mark of protest. They also shouted slogans against the Union government.
In Surat some lawyers were detained, who came out on the roads and blocked the traffic in protest.
The Bill, introduced in the Rajya Sabha last year, seeks to establish a National Commission which will regulate university education, including vocational, technical, professional and medical education.