Bar Can Hold Condolence Meeting On Someone’s Demise But Cannot Obstruct Court Proceedings- Allahabad HC

• The Allahabad HC has recently held in Imtiyaj Ali and ors. vs. Additional Commissioner Faizabad, Mandal Ayodhya, Ayodhya and anr. that the Bar has no right to repeatedly go on strike or abstain from judicial work. They have the right to condole the demise of any member or anyone else by holding a meeting, but do not have the right to obstruct the working of the Court.
• This was observed by a single judge bench while taking note of the affidavits filed by the President and the Secretary of Commissioner’s Court Bar Association, Ayodhya tendering their apology for their repeated strikes.
• In the instant case, the proceedings before the Additional Commissioner, Faizabad, Ayodhya Division had been brought to a standstill and there was no progress with the same due to repeated strikes by the Bar.
• The Court took note of the fact that earlier some affidavits were filed by the Presidents and Secretaries of the Bar and the Commissioner’s Court Bar Association in which they said that they will not go on any strike unless some extraordinary circumstances exist. They were found in blatant violation of the same.
• It was due to this reason that the Court called a written apology on the affidavit of the President and Secretary, Commissioner’s Court Bar Council.
• The affidavits tendered before the Court were qualified due to the fact that it read that no motion of abstention from work will be passed by the Bar except under extraordinary circumstances. This was unacceptable to the Court.
• The Court accepted the apology without any qualifications while referring to the decision of the Hon’ble SC in the case of District Bar Association, Dehradun through Secretary vs. Ishwar Shandilya and Ors. AIR 2020 SC in which it was held that no kind of freedom or right entitles a Bar Association to call for any boycott or strike.
• As far as the instant case is concerned, the Court ordered that the Commissioner’s Court Bar Association will not hold any further strike or call for abstention from judicial work, be it disguised as a condolence or by any other name.

And now, a Question for our aspirants-
In which case was it held by the Hon'ble SC that there is no fundamental right to strike?