Plea in Allahabad High Court to probe police lathi-charge on lawyers in Ghaziabad court

The Ghaziabad Bar Association has moved the Allahabad High Court for a special investigation team (SIT) probe into the recent lathi-charge by police on lawyers at the Ghaziabad Court.

Clashes had erupted between police and lawyers at the Ghaziabad District Court in Uttar Pradesh on October 29 following a heated argument between a district judge and a lawyer.

The plea filed through Advocate Jawahir Yadav seeks an SIT probe into this incident under direct supervision by the High Court.

The plea also urges the Court to issue a show cause notice to the district judge under Article 215 (which states that High Courts are courts of record that have the power to impose punishments for contempt of court) of the Constitution of India.

Further, it has called for the preservation of CCTV footage of the clashes and for the police to be restrained from taking any action on two criminal complaints filed against various lawyers over the incident.

Videos of the clash between the police and lawyers had surfaced on social media last week, showing the former using force and resorting to lathi charge to remove lawyers from the court premises.

The angry lawyers retaliated by setting fire to the police chowki (outpost) located within the court premises.

According to the Ghaziabad Bar Association's plea, the clashes were rooted in District and Sessions Judge Anil Kumar's alleged refusal to hear an anticipatory bail case in an encroachment case.

The counsel representing the complainant in the encroachment case had allegedly protested the continuation of interim relief to the accused and sought a hearing in the matter. However, the judge is said to have "bluntly refused" to hear the matter on October 29 or transfer the matter to another court.

Further, the plea claims that the judge got incensed and started verbally abusing lawyers after the counsel requested that the matter be transferred to another court if the judge did not wish to hear the case. The plea adds that the judge then called in security personnel which escalated the tense situation and led to the police-lawyer clashes.

Following the incident, the Ghaziabad Police registered two first information reports (FIRs) under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 against around 50 unidentified lawyers, including former Bar President Nahar Singh Yadav.

In the wake of these developments, the Bar Association has submitted that its plea was filed to protect the dignity of the judicial system.

The Bar Association has asserted that its members were brutally assaulted and that blatant disregard was shown for the authority of the court and the rights of advocates.

"The District Judge while issuing directions to the police officials for opening fire upon the lawyers completely exceeded its jurisdiction and acted in a manner which is detrimental to the status of District Judge, and also contrary to the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India as well as this Hon'ble Court in catena of judgments," the plea states.

The matter is likely to be heard this week.

Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court Bar Associations, both at Allahabad and the Lucknow Bench, resolved yesterday to abstain from judicial work on November 4 (today) to protest the police lathi-charge incident.