Right to Information (RTI) activist and advocate Anoop Prakash Awasthi filed a writ petition before the Delhi high court today, challenging the two-day strike.
According to the position settled by the Supreme Court (SC) in 1988 in Ex. Capt Harish Uppal vs. Union of India & Anr, lawyers do not have a right to strike or give a call for boycott - “not even a token strike”.
I agree with Adv. Awasti that the strike was premature & uncalled for. The Higher Education Bill has not reached any finality; BCI could have issued a notice to HRD ministry regarding their concerns. They could have mentioned that if their concerns are not addressed they would resort to a strike.
Even if the BCI had to make a point in this regard they could have asked all the lawyers to wear Black arm bands in protest. This two day strike was meaningless; the same message could have been conveyed by wearing black arm bands.
Many poor litigants who arrive for their hearing from their villages are unnecessarily harassed by such actions. When getting JUSTICE in our country is such a slow & torturous process where litigants have to wait for years (in many cases decades), this strike can only be termed as SHAMEFUL.
Although I was in no way affected by this strike I deeply disappointed with BCI’s action.
What surprises me most is that there was no voice of PROTEST from the Lawyers themselves against this strike call. Everyone blindly followed BCI orders, without thinking if the strike call was justified or not.
Hope better sense prevails & hence forth BCI don’t resort to strikes.
Warm Regards
