Tis Hazari clash: Lawyers to abstain from work on Monday in all courts

Advocates in the Delhi High Court and all district courts here have decided to abstain from work on Monday to protest against the clash between lawyers and police at Tis Hazari Court on Saturday.

The lawyers said they would not participate in any of the judicial work and only proxy counsel would appear in the courts to take dates in various matters.

Delhi High Court Bar Association president Mohit Mathur said they have requested all members to abstain from work on Monday as a mark of protest.

"Proxy counsel will be there in the courts to take dates. We are not forcing anyone, we have only requested the members," he said.

Advocate Jaiveer Singh Chauhan, secretary of Tis Hazari Bar Association, said a meeting would be held on Monday to decide the future course of action.

"Strike will be held in all the district courts from 10 am. The strike will continue till all the culprits are arrested, Chauhan said.

He further said that lawyers' strike will also be observed in courts in Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, some parts of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Advocate Mahavir Sharma, chairman of coordination committee of all bar associations of district courts here, said it was an assault on the entire judicial system and the strike would continue till police officials who fired at the advocates were arrested.

This is not simply an assault on an advocate. It is an assault on the judicial system. If the system remains intact and powerful, only then justice can be delivered. The police fired without any such situation. It was a trivial issue of parking.

Advocates are bound to be present on court's premises. If such incidents continue, how can we work? In district courts it will continue and end only when the culprits, whosoever fired at the advocates, are arrested, Sharma said.

Lawyers in the six district courts at the national capital-- Patiala House Court, Tis Hazari District Court, Karkardooma District Court, Saket District Court, Dwarka District Court and Rohini District Court-- will boycott work on November 4.

Lawyers and police personnel clashed at the Tis Hazari Court complex on Saturday afternoon, resulting in injuries to at least 20 police personnel and several lawyers while 17 vehicles were vandalised, according to officials and eyewitnesses.

The high court took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of media reports of the incident on Sunday and said Justice (retd) S P Garg, a former judge of the court, would hold a judicial inquiry into the matter.

It directed the Delhi police commissioner to transfer Special Commissioner Sanjay Singh and Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Harinder Singh during the pendency of the inquiry and made it clear that no coercive action would be taken against any lawyer.