Calcutta High Court says no lawyer can be forced to take part in strike against new criminal laws

The Calcutta High Court on Friday observed that no lawyer can be forced to stop work and participate in a lawyers' strike recently called for by the West Bengal Bar Council to protest against the implementation of the three new criminal laws on July 1 [Sahasrganshu Bhattacharjee v. Bar Council of West Bengal and Others].

Justice Shampa Sarkar observed that the Bar Council's resolution to observe July 1 as 'Black Day' as a mark of protest against the three new criminal laws can only be treated as a request and not a mandate.

After taking note that the resolution called for advocates to abstain from judicial work and organise protest rallies, the Court clarified that no willing lawyer should be forced to stop work on account of the same.

"It is a settled position of law that no one can be compelled to observe strike or cease work. Lawyers discharge public function for the litigants. Thus, this resolution of the Bar Council of West Bengal shall not be treated as a mandate on the learned advocates to abstain from work. Willing advocates are entitled to appear before the Courts all over West Bengal and Andaman & Nichobar Islands," the Court said.

Notably, the three new criminal laws, namely the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) are slated to come into force on July 1.

These laws are meant to replace the existing colonial-era criminal laws in India, namely the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act.

The move, however, stoked some controversy, including over how it was passed in Parliament, its potential impact on existing criminal cases, the practical challenges involved in implementing the law after such an overhaul and even the names of the new laws.

The State Bar Council of West Bengal on June 26 announced that it would be observing July 1 as 'Black Day', after passing a resolution which decried the three laws are anti-people, undemocratic and likely to cause great hardships to the common man.

This Bar Council decision was challenged before the High Court. In the plea, the petitioner challenged the authority of the State Bar Council to call for such a strike.

The High Court has allowed the Bar Council to file its response to the petition within three weeks.

However, in the meanwhile, the Court warned against preventing any lawyer from working on July 1 on account of the Bar Council's resolution.

"No coercive measures or disciplinary action or any action shall be taken against such advocates who wish to espouse the cause of their clients and who appear for the interest of their clients. The rallies which have been asked to be organized are in the nature of request to the Bar Association, this cannot be treated as a mandate," the Court said.

[Read Order]