Delhi lawyers Friday observed a day-long strike as part of the Bar Council of India’s nationwide protest against two bills, including one which they claim will take away the powers of the council to hear complaints against lawyers, said the Delhi Bar Association.
The strike paralysed legal proceedings at all six district court complexes.
Around 20,000 lawyers observed the strike, affecting a large number of cases, said the bar association.
A group of lawyers went inside the 2G scam special CBI court and requested prosecution and defence counsel to stop the proceedings. They asked counsel to join in their strike.
Judges held court as usual but in the absence of lawyers most cases were put off to other dates.
The strike was observed to protest the Legal Practitioners Bill, 2010, and the Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011. The lawyers say these bills will take over the authority of the bar council.
“Government wants to make the bar council redundant as it has been opposing several anti-people measures of the government, including allowing entry for foreign lawyers,” said Rajiv Khosla, spokesperson of the coordination committee of all District Court Bar Associations of Delhi.
“The government intends to take over the powers of the bar council by establishing ombudsmen, consisting of judges, to hear complaints against lawyers, and take over the authority of the council over legal education,” said Khosla.
