Chandigarh, November 7
It is back to work for the lawyers in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The General House of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association today unanimously decided to defer for the time being the decision to abstain from work. The House decided to continue with an alternative mode of protest.
The decision to abstain from work was earlier taken during the House meeting held to discuss the issue regarding breach of privilege of the lawyers and raid at office-cum-residence of an advocate by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Bar chief Santokhwinder Singh Grewal Nabha and vice-president Karan Nehra had also shot-off a communication to the Director, NIA.
Meanwhile, a Special Bench of the High Court “disposed of as withdrawn” a petition filed by an advocate seeking directions to the Union of India and other respondents to take the remedial steps following “illegal and arbitrary action” of the respondent- agency in conducting a raid through its team at the house-cum-law office of a lawyer.
In the petition placed before the Division Bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa, advocate Arvind Seth had submitted that he was filing the PIL “due to illegal and arbitrary action of the respondent-NIA for conducting a raid at the house-cum-law office of a Bar association member”.
He had added that the NIA’s conduct was wholly impermissible and a direct interference in the judicial process of discharging professional duties by a lawyer. The High Court Bar Association has condemned the unlawful intervention of the NIA. “The NIA cannot raid a lawyer’s residence-cum-legal office in this manner and seek privileged communication between the lawyer and the client. Such raids tantamount to direct interference in the judicial proceedings and is nothing but a criminal contempt of court,” he said.
