BCI Chairman Urges Delhi Bar Associations To Defer Strike Against LG Notification On Police Officers' Evidence

Senior Advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, Chairman of the Bar Council of India, has written to the Coordination Committee of Bar Associations in the national capital to defer or recall the strike by lawyers on September 08 to oppose the notification of Delhi LG concerning deposition of police personnel before courts through video conferencing.

Mishra has invited the Coordination Committee to participate in a joint meeting with BCI and Bar Council of Delhi on Monday at 5 PM, for providing a proper forum for deliberations and clarifications.

On August 13, Delhi LG VK Saxena issued a notification designating all police stations in Delhi as places for police personnel to present evidence and depose before courts through video conferencing.

Following protests by the Bar, a circular was issued by the Delhi Police on September 04 clarifying that only formal police witnesses may will be examined through video conferencing from police stations.

However, the Coordination Committee yesterday issued a circular again calling for indefinite strike on Monday on the ground that the police circular is contrary to the assurances given by the authorities.

In his letter, Mishra has said that repeated abstention from work is causing grave hardship to the litigants, including undertrial prisoners and victims of crimes, and also to those advocates who are eager to discharge their professional duties in Delhi Courts.

He has said that the more constructive way forward would be to build upon the concessions already secured and to discuss the matter with the highest representative bodies of legal profession.

The letter further states that the joint meeting would provide proper forum for deliberation and clarification and that by attending the said meeting, the Coordination Committee will preserve the dignity of the Bar, protect litigants from needless hardship, and ensure that the Bar Associations do not go strike without any rhyme or reason all the time.

“I therefore, appeal that the strike/ abstinence call be deferred/recalled, and the Coordination Committee be agreed to participate in the proposed meeting with BCI and Bar Council of Delhi. This constructive step will not only carry forward the substantive progress already achieved but also give the Bar its strongest platform for ensuring that its voice is heard and acted upon and carries weight,” the letter states.

“Moreover, the Bar will not expose itself to mockery or criticism, nor create an impression among the public that the Delhi Bar Associations resort to strikes repeatedly, even for matters that may appear to be petty or without sufficient cause. By avoiding such perceptions, the dignity and credibility of the Bar will be preserved in the eyes of litigants and society at large.