Shillong, The Meghalaya High Court has issued criminal contempt notices to office-bearers of two bar associations over their “completely unacceptable” call for a judicial work boycott, demanding the removal of Advocate General Amit Kumar from his post.
It issued notices to office-bearers and executive members of the Shillong Bar Association and the High Court of Meghalaya Bar Association, asking them to show cause why criminal contempt action should not be initiated against them. They have been directed to appear personally before the court on October 13, according to the order.
Citing the Supreme Court’s judgment in Ex-Capt. Harish Uppal vs Union of India, the bench reiterated that lawyers have no right to strike or call for a boycott of court proceedings, including token strikes. The two associations called for abstention from work from October 1 until the government removes Kumar, the state’s chief legal officer, over remarks allegedly made during High Court proceedings on August 3 concerning the safety of women lawyers and the protection of a woman law intern, who was allegedly molested. The court also impleaded the Bar Council of India as a respondent and directed the Chairman of the Bar Council of Meghalaya to appear personally on October 13 and inform it of the action taken against lawyers involved in the abstention.
The demand for the advocate general’s removal was no justification for abstaining from judicial work, adding that courts could not be used by lawyers to achieve such objectives, according to the high court.
