Today, On 11th July, The Allahabad High Court Bar Association passed a resolution prohibiting lawyers from addressing judges as “My Lord” or “Your Lordship,” emphasizing that judges are not gods.
Prayagraj: The lawyers at Allahabad High Court extended their strike into Thursday, following the High Court Bar Association‘s directive. The strike at the Allahabad High Court in Prayagraj addresses several concerns, including the conduct of judges towards lawyers and the disregard for established court practices and customs.
On the second day of the strike, the High Court Bar Association held an Executive Committee meeting at 12:00 PM in the new office bearers’ room. The meeting chaired by the President and senior advocate Mr. Anil Tiwari, and facilitated by the General Secretary, Mr. Vikrant Pandey.
The following resolutions passed during the meeting:
Change in Addressing Judges
- Modification in Judicial Address: Advocates will no longer refer to judges as “My Lord” or “Your Lordship.” This decision in line with a statement made by the Chief Justice of India, highlighting that judges should not be perceived as deities. Additionally, steps will be taken to communicate with all Bar Associations across the state to address the rising incidents of misconduct against advocates in various courts.
Actions Against Non-Compliant Advocates
- Disciplinary Measures: Advocates who received show-cause notices for failing to comply with the strike decision must provide their explanations. Failure to do so will lead to the termination of their Bar Association membership, resulting in the loss of benefits such as medical aid, support for dependents of deceased members, and priority in the allocation of new chambers. Those blacklisted will be permanently barred from future membership with the High Court Bar Association. Furthermore, advocates who participated in cases via video conferencing or in-person during the ongoing movement will have their memberships immediately revoked.
Continued Strike Action
- Strike Extension: Given the current situation, the Executive Committee unanimously decided to abstain from judicial work tomorrow, July 12, 2024.
The meeting attended by Senior Vice President, Rajesh KhareVice, Presidents, Agnihotri Kumar Tripathi, Akhilesh Kumar Mishra, Subhash Chandra Yadav, Neeraj Tripathi, and Neelam Shukla.
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Joint Secretary (Administration), Sumit Kumar SrivastavaJoint Secretary (Library), Abhijit Kumar PandeyJoint Secretary (Press), Puneet Kumar ShuklaJoint Secretary (Women), Anchal Ojha also attended the meeting.
Also Treasurer, Ran Vijay Singh and Executive Members, Udisha Tripathi, Awadhesh Kumar Mishra, Abhishek Tiwari, Sachchidanand Yadav, Dinesh Yadav, Rajesh Shukla, Sarveshwar Lal Srivastava, Ved Prakash Ojha, Baldev Shukla, and Brajesh Kumar Singh ‘Sengar‘ also attended the meeting.