The Supreme Court agreed to consider a plea filed by leaders of the Madhya Pradesh Bar Council regarding contempt proceedings stemming from a lawyer’s strike. The plea challenges the initiation of contempt actions against them in connection with organizing a strike in protest of a controversial High Court circular.
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NEW DELHI: Today (April 26): The Supreme Court will consider hearing the plea that challenges the ongoing contempt proceedings against the chairperson of the Madhya Pradesh State Bar Council and other bar leaders. The plea alleges that they called for a strike, prompting the Madhya Pradesh High Court to initiate the contempt case.
The bench, consisting of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, took note of the urgency of the matter as presented by senior advocate Vivek Tankha, who appeared on behalf of the chairperson and other bar leaders.
Tankha emphasized,
“Contempt proceedings are underway not just against the State Bar Council chairman but also against 103 bar associations. This is an urgent matter.”
The CJI responded,
“I’ll consider it.”
The Madhya Pradesh High Court accused the State Bar Council chairperson and its elected members of engaging in a strike instead of seeking a resolution, without any justifiable cause. In response, the chairperson filed an appeal against the High Court’s interim order issued on November 2, 2023.
The petitioners argue that the contempt proceedings were initiated due to the strike called by the lawyers in response to a controversial circular issued by the High Court, which had caused significant unrest in Madhya Pradesh. However, the strike was called off on March 29, 2023, after the intervention of the Supreme Court, and the circular that triggered the strike was subsequently amended.
“In summary, the petitioners argue that contempt proceedings were initiated against them for organizing a strike and urging all lawyers to refrain from work starting March 23, 2023, in response to a controversial circular issued by the High Court, which sparked widespread unrest in Madhya Pradesh.
“In response to this action, the High Court launched Suo Motu proceedings…, leading to numerous contempt charges against the Chairman and other officials of the State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh, as well as individual lawyers who abstained from court proceedings,” stated the urgent letter, submitted by attorney Sumeer Sodhi.
“The bar leaders offered an ‘unconditional and unqualified bona fide apology’ before the High Court on November 2, 2023,” it stated.
“However, despite accepting the apologies from individual lawyers and discontinuing contempt proceedings against them, the High Court did not accept the apology from the Chairman and office bearers of the State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh. Consequently, criminal contempt proceedings against them were upheld,” the letter explained.
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The petition further states that while the High Court accepted the apology tendered by individual lawyers and dropped the contempt proceedings against them, it did not accept the apology submitted on behalf of the Chairman and other office bearers of the State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh. Consequently, the criminal contempt proceedings against them were continued.
