Ahmedabad: Chief justice of the Gujarat high court on Wednesday refused to entertain lawyers who wanted to abstain from the court proceedings to protest the arrest of Anna Hazare.
A division bench headed by chief justice S J Mukhopadhaya asked the president of the Gujarat High Court Advocates’ Association (GHCAA) Yatin Oza not “to bring politics” to the court, when Oza tried to make a representation on the issue.
“Do not embarrass the court,” the chief justice said. Court will not allow any adjournments and dismiss cases where the lawyer chooses not to remain present, he added.
Earlier today, GHCAA passed a resolution that its members would stay away from the court proceedings to register protest against the arrest of Hazare in Delhi, said Oza, a senior counsel and a former BJP MLA. However, some of the members opposed the resolution, calling it a political act. Following this, Oza dashed off a letter to CJ mentioning that his “comments were not only irresponsible, but was also an insult to the Bar and taking the Bar Association for granted.” The lawyer told the CJ that he wrongly believed the version of lawyers supporting a particular party, and requested further, “Whenever any issue in relation to the Bar comes to you, you should and must have the official version from the elected representatives of the Bar.” The Bar’s president also gave reasons for not countering CJ’s argument in the open court because he wanted the judge to leave the state with sweet memories of Gujarat.
Meanwhile, many other lawyers’ associations in Gujarat including the Bar Council of India have also extended support to Hazare’s movement and condemned his arrest and warned the Congress party-led Centre to act as per the provisions of the Constitution.
No comments:
Post a Comment