Poetry gatherings, rituals, heavy rain and blast in Pak. are among reasons quoted

Kavi sammelan, shraadh, heavy rains, moral support to social activists, earthquake in Nepal and a bomb blast in a Pakistan school have been reasons for lawyers to strike in the past five years.

The Law Commission of India quotes these reasons in its 266th report released to the Centre. The information was received from High Courts through their Chief Justices.

The Centre’s law recommendatory panel said it found none of these excuses convincing. Strikes have arrested judicial work and held justice for common man to ransom. The Commission recommended the government to tighten the Advocates Act of 1961 and has suggested an Amendment Bill.

“To mention a few, bomb blast in Pakistan school, amendments to Sri Lanka’s Constitution, interstate river water disputes, attack on/murder of advocate, earthquake in Nepal, to condole the death of their near relatives, to show solidarity to advocates of other State Bar Associations, moral support to movements by social activists, heavy rains, or on some religious occasions such as shraadh, Agrasen Jayanti, etc. or even for kavi sammelan,” the Commission headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice B.S. Chauhan, observed.

Working days

The High Courts also sent the Commission the number of working days the judiciary, especially the subordinate courts, lost to advocates’ strikes between 2011 and 2016. The Commission said it was plainly “astonished.”

For example, in Tamil Nadu, subordinate courts work 220 days a year. Between 2011-2016, Kancheepuram courts were affected by lawyers’ strikes for 687 days (137.4 days a year) due to lawyers’ strikes. Kanyakumari courts did not function for 585 days, Madurai for 577 days, Cuddalore for 461 days and Sivaganga for 408 days.

Uttar Pradesh was the worst affected by lawyers’ strikes between 2011 and 2016. District courts in the State work 265 days a year. This, when there are over 2.7 crore cases pending in the subordinate courts.

“The advocates’ conduct in courts, behaviour with litigants and their unprofessional conduct, including the act of going on strikes as a measure of protest has reached terrifying proportions,” the Commission told the government.