MP HC directs striking lawyers to return to work, warns of strict action

The Madhya Pradesh High Court in a suo motu action has directed all advocates taking part in an ongoing strike to return to work forthwith.

The direction came after lawyers started three-day agitation by staying off work to protest a high court order to trial courts to shortlist 25 cases and dispose them of in three months.

“Advocates throughout Madhya Pradesh are hereby directed to attend to their court work forthwith. They shall represent their clients in the respective cases before the respective courts forthwith,” a division bench of Chief Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice Vishal Mishra said.

The court took suo motu action over a letter from the chairman of the State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh (SBCMP) asking the lawyer community to abstain from court work from Thursday.

If any lawyer deliberately avoids attending the court, it will be presumed that he had disobeyed the order and he will have to face serious consequences, including initiation of proceedings for contempt of court under the Contempt of Courts Act, the order stated.

Since the judgment of the Supreme Court has been violated and keeping in mind the interest of the poor litigants, the bench said it deems it just and necessary to issue these directions.

The court said that if any lawyer prevents a colleague from attending court work, it would be considered as disobedience of these directions and he will have face serious consequences.

Apart from this, the court also directed that judicial officers will have to submit a report as to which lawyer had deliberately abstained from attending work.