The Allahabad High Court charges Kanpur attorneys with contempt for continuing their strike
The Allahabad High Court issued contempt charges on Friday against Kanpur Bar Associations and Lawyers’ Association Kanpur Nagar office bearers for continuing their strike despite the HC’s order (to refrain from boycotting district courts) and for using abusive unparliamentary language and outrageous behaviour against the Judiciary.
It should be recalled that Kanpur district lawyers have been on strike since March 16, primarily to urge their demand for the transfer of district judge Kanpur Nagar.
This order was issued by a full bench comprising Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker, Justice Sunita Agarwal, Justice Surya Prakash Kesarwani, Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta, Justice Anjani Kumar Mishra, Justice Dr. Kaushal Jayendra Thaker, and Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi.
By restraining the lawyers from performing judicial work in the District Court at Kanpur Nagar, affixing a handwritten notice dated 6.4.2023 reiterating the resolution dated 25.3.2023 for an indefinite strike, and threatening the lawyers with adverse consequences if any of them attends the court proceeding, the lawyers in contempt) have wilfully and deliberately committed contempt of the order dated 6.4.2023 of this Court.
The bench further observed that the lawyers knowingly and deliberately committed contempt of court by interfering in the administration of justice, organising an illegal strike on March 16, 2023, and so paralysing judicial operations at the Kanpur Nagar District Judgeship.
It may be recalled that the Allahabad High Court’s 7 Judges bench instructed the office bearers of the Kanpur Bar Association and the Lawyers Association to come before the Court on Friday, taking serious note of the prolonged strike of the Kanpur Bar Association and the Lawyers Association.
On Friday, the lawyers present before the Court stated that, despite the court’s order to resume work, they made no steps to suspend their strike and instead decided to continue with it.
In reality, the majority of the lawyers present before the Court, as well as the officers of the aforementioned advocates’ organisations, stated before the Court that they are willing to go to jail.
Against this backdrop, the Court observed that, despite the fact that the HC’s notices were served on the noticees on April 6, no general body meeting was called by the office bearers of both Associations at Kanpur Nagar until they appeared in Court, and the directions issued by this Court to resume judicial work immediately and to purge the contempt had been disregarded.
The Court also considered video footage of the strike made available by the District Judge, in which the protesting lawyers shouted slogans and used abusive and insulting language against the entire district judiciary.
In light of this, the Court deemed the lawyers to be in deliberate and wilful contempt of the Court by interfering with the administration of justice, and charged the following lawyers with contempt:
Naresh Chandra Tripathi, President, Kanpur Bar Association
Anurag Srivastava, General Secretary, Kanpur Bar Association
Sharad Kumar Shukla, General Secretary, Kanpur Lawyers
Association
Sarvesh Yadav, Vice President, Kanpur Nagar Lawyers’ Association;
Kanpur Bar Association Vice President Anoop Kumar Shukla
Kanpur Bar Association Secretary Ajay Pratap Singh Chauhan
It should be mentioned that the lawyers’ associations initially boycotted only the Court of District & Sessions Judge, Kanpur Nagar, but eventually extended their boycott to the entire Kanpur Judgeship beginning March 25, 2023.
On the administrative side, the Chief Justice and Kanpur Nagar Administrative Judges met separately and jointly with the President and General Secretary of Kanpur Bar Association, Kanpur Nagar, to try to address the situation.
In the aforementioned meetings, the President and General Secretary of the Kanpur Bar Association had previously promised to call off the strike and resume work; however, they broke their promise and did not resume work.
In light of this, the HC took the case on its own initiative and ordered the lawyers in contempt to appear in person before the Court on Friday
Written by shivangi, BBA.LLB (HONS), CHRIST UNIVERSITY NCR CAMPUS
