india

Updated: Nov 16, 2019 05:35 IST

Lawyers practising in Delhi courts on Friday called off their 12-day strike that had started after a clash with police personnel in Tis Hazari court complex on November 2, a statement by an apex body of lawyers said.

The move comes a day after the Delhi High Court prohibited the police from arresting the two policemen involved in the Tis Hazari clash of November 2 against who the lawyers wanted action. The clash had led to a stand off between the police and lawyers, two pillars of the criminal justice system and also led to an unprecedented protest by police personnel outside Delhi Police headquarters.

Mahavir Singh Sharma, chairman of the coordination committee of All Bar Associations in Delhi, linked the decision to stand down and return to work to the high court’s order a day earlier.

“We respect the order of the high court, so the abstinence from work is suspended, work to be resumed from Saturday. We thank all the members for cooperation. Our fight for the Advocates Protection Act will continue,” Sharma said.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar had shielded the two assistant sub-inspectors (ASI) Kanta Prasad and Pawan Kumar from arrest on their petition till a judicial inquiry ordered into the incident was over. The two police officers had been suspended earlier. The high court had posted the case for December 23.

A parking dispute between an on-duty police official and a lawyer triggered the clash between the two sides at the Tis Hazari court complex on November 2, leaving 20 security personnel and several lawyers injured.