NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday held as illegal strikes by advocates in Uttarakhand on a working Saturday over a variety of reasons, including bomb blast at a Pakistan school, earthquake in Nepal and the death of family members of some advocates.
A bench headed by Justice MR Shah held the practice of lawyers striking work, which has been a fairly common occurrence in three Uttarakhand districts — Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar — over the past 35 years, as illegal. It said the practice tantamounts to contempt of court.
“The ultimate sufferers of such strikes are the litigants. If the lawyers had worked, it would have been in the larger interest of speedy justice, which is now recognized as a fundamental right under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. It would have also helped in the early disposal of criminal trials,” the bench said.
The bench directed the Bar Council of India and the state bar bodies to take note of the judgment and initiate action against the lawyers.