Hapur 'lathi-charge': Lawyers protest in parts of UP, judicial work hit

Lawyers on Thursday staged protests in several parts of Uttar Pradesh against the government's ''inaction'' in a recent incident of alleged police lathi-charge on advocates in Hapur as judicial work in the Allahabad High Court as well as in district courts remained affected due to their strike.

The lawyers have been on a strike since August 30 over the issue.

While the lawyers of the high court continued to abstain from judicial work on a call from the High Court Bar Association, advocates in the district courts are on strike on the call of the state bar council.

In Lucknow, a large number of lawyers gathered at Parivartan Chowk and raised slogans against the administration and police and also burnt an effigy of the government to protest ''inaction'' in the Hapur incident. Barricades were installed in view of the lawyers' protest and police were present on the spot to prevent any untoward incident.

However, some protesters managed to move further till the Hazratganj crossing and threatened to gherao the chief minister's residence in support of their demands including action against policemen responsible for the Hapur incident.

Striking lawyers also burnt an effigy of the government in Kannauj.

In Prayagraj, lawyer Rajiv Singh said although the Allahabad High Court has made arrangements for hearing cases virtually since last Tuesday, most of the advocates are coming to the court premises but avoiding attending virtual hearings.

The situation is similar in the district courts.

Meanwhile, Akhilesh Awasthi has resigned from the post of chief standing advocate III of the state government in the high court.

Awasthi said in a statement in Lucknow that he has informed the advocate general and principal secretary in the law department about his resignation. Reports from districts said lawyers staged protests in several parts of the state.

In Hapur, striking lawyers burnt an effigy of the state government in district court premises and also raised slogans.

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

A government spokesperson in Lucknow said that the committee headed by Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta, set up on the high court's directions to look into the grievances raised at the bar in respect of the Hapur incident, will hold its meeting in Prayagraj on Saturday.

Last week, a bench of Chief Justice Pritinker Diwakar and Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi heard the arguments of bar council chairman Shiv Kishore Gaur, member-secretary Jai Narayan Pandey and member Madhusudan Tripathi on the Hapur incident, following which the committee under the chairmanship of Justice Gupta was set up.

The committee also has Justice Rajan Rai, Justice Mohammad Faiz Alam Khan, the advocate general of Uttar Pradesh or his nominee and the presidents of the state bar council and High Court Bar Association as its members.