Patna HC lawyers on strike over change in filing procedure; BCI’s MK Mishra holds meeting with protesters

Advocates of the Patna High Court are on an indefinite strike, protesting the amendment to the High Court rules notified in November 2014. The amendment changed the rules regarding rectification of defects in filing of documents with the registry..Speaking to Bar & Bench, Rakesh Kumar Sinha, Joint Secretary of the Patna High Court Advocates Association said,.“The procedure under Chapter III-A of the Patna High Court rules was that after filing, the documents were given back to the advocate after [being stamped]. Without consulting the Coordination Committee, they have now amended the rules. Now the defective filing is not given back to the advocate.”.The amendment, which came into effect from January 1, 2015, prohibits advocates from taking the paperwork outside the court premises for the purpose of rectifying defects. Rule 6 (ii) of the amended Chapter III-A states:.“The proceeding once filed will not be returned to the Advocate on Record. The advocate or his registered clerk will remove the defects within the Court premises at the place assigned for the same.”.This rule goes against the general practice adopted in the Supreme Court as well as the High Courts of Delhi, and Bangalore. What this rule effectively means is that those lawyers who do not have chambers within the court premises will be inconvenienced..Another reason for the agitation is the fact that there are insufficient seating arrangements in the High Court. The court, which houses around 12,000 lawyers, presently has a seating capacity of only 3,000..The Bar Council of India’s Manan Kumar Mishra, who hails from Patna, was scheduled to discuss the grievances of the protesting lawyers today. However, the meeting bore no fruit. Sinha added,.“They [the Bar Council] had a meeting today, but a decision has not been arrived at yet. We will continue to strike till there is a decision.”