UP: HC bar association withdraws strike call

Prayagraj: The High Court Bar Association on Friday decided to withdraw its decision to abstain from work in protest against the alleged lathicharge on lawyers in the Hapur district on August 29.

The move comes a day after the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh announced calling off the statewide strike by lawyers following talks with the chief secretary.

Ashok Kumar Singh, the chairman of the High Court Bar Association told PTI that in a meeting of the body held here on Friday morning, it was decided to withdraw the call given to abstain from judicial work.

He added that the lawyers have resumed going to the High Court.

The Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday night announced calling off the statewide strike by lawyers following talks with the chief secretary.

Lawyers in Uttar Pradesh have been on a strike since August 30 over the alleged police lathicharge on advocates in Hapur the day before.

"The talks with Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra were very positive. He has assured that the cases registered against advocates across the state during the movement will be dropped," Uttar Pradesh Bar Council president Shiv Kishore Gaur had told PTI on Thursday.

He said, "A committee has been formed on advocates protection law in which there will be a representative from the Bar Council and the proposal for this law will be passed within a set time limit."

Gaur said, "The government has accepted the demand for suspension of guilty police officers and transfer of top police officers in Hapur. We are calling off the strike as our demands were accepted." The strike by lawyers had affected the judicial work of the Allahabad High Court as well as in district courts of Uttar Pradesh.

Police had allegedly lathi-charged lawyers on August 29 in Hapur when they were protesting against the registration of a case against a woman advocate and her father around a week ago at that time following a confrontation between the woman lawyer and police when she was going to Ghaziabad in her car.