Chandigarh Lawyers stage protest, demand Courts to be opened

As many as 70 Lawyers of the Chandigarh District Court staged a protest against the district court authorities on Tuesday morning, demanding the opening of courts which will allow them to file cases physically.

The lawyers, aggrieved about non-functional courts, staged the protest at the lawyers’ chamber complex, and also demanded that their clients should be allowed to visit them at their chambers at the court complex.

Former President of the District Bar Association, advocate Ravinder Singh, said that the Chandigarh court has around 3,200 lawyers. The courts have been closed for around 82 days now, owing to the lockdown.

“When the Administration can allow shops, hotels, restaurants etc to open and function in the city, why can’t the lawyers be allowed to work from their chambers and meet their clients?” asked Singh.

He added that at present only a few types of cases, including urgent matters of bail, NI act cases, have been allowed to be filed in the court, and now other the authorities should also allow for other types of cases to be filed.

Advocate Vinod Verma, Former Vice President of DBA, Chandigarh, said that the judicial officers on duty are not coming to the courts. “When we have to attend a case, we have to visit the residence of the judicial officers under the hot sun and stand outside their residences, which is not appropriate,” he said.

“Due to suspension of the courts and their limited functioning, the lawyers have been at the receiving end. We demand the court authorities to look into our demands,” added Verma.

Pic Courtsey: IndiaSpend

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