Resume Work Or Face Contempt, Suspension Of Licence: SC To Striking Lawyers Of Odisha

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on striking lawyers in Odisha and directed them to resume work from Wednesday.

Issuing a thinly veiled threat, the Bench, comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S Oka, said that the recalcitrant lawyers will be held guilty of contempt of court and even their licence suspended/cancelled will they fail to comply with the order and “fall in line”.

“We do not care if all of you lose your source of employment, but the public should not be made to suffer like this. It’s good if these people don’t practice,” said Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, while hearing a petition of the Orissa High Court in connection with the loss of judicial working hours due to non-participation of members of different bar associations in court proceedings.

The top court also refused to put on hold the order passed on November 13 by the Chairman of the Bar Council of India suspending office-bearers and members of the executive committees of five district bar associations of Odisha for their role in encouraging the strike.

“The conduct of many associations and of lawyers have been far from satisfactory. We were compelled to pass orders earlier and there are undertakings before us that there would not be a repeat of the issue of lawyers abstaining from work. This abstention naturally includes any part-time abstention in a day or for the whole day.”

According to the petition, abstentions by lawyers had resulted in a cumulative loss of 2,14,176 working hours in subordinate courts from January 1 to September 30. The reasons: Agitation over demand for establishment of a permanent bench of the HC in addition to the principal bench in Cuttack, the establishment of courts, crop insurance and enhancement of welfare funds; demise of advocates and judicial officers; floods, scorching heat and Bharat Bandh.

In Ganjam, members of Bar associations observe satyagraha/dharna during the last four working days of every month. The members of the district Bar association at Jeypore of Koraput district are not participating in the last two working days of every month and those in Berhampur are observing daylong ceasework on the last Friday of every month.

The petition further said that members of the Bar associations in Sambalpur district attended only urgent work on September 26 and 27, while observing September 28 as protest day and complete cease work on September 30.