Gwalior: Madhya Pradesh High Court in a suo motu action has directed all advocates taking part in an ongoing strike to return to work forthwith. The direction came on Friday, a day after lawyers in the state started their three-day agitation by staying off work to protest a high court order to the trial courts to shortlist 25 cases and dispose them of in three months. But the lawyers are on strike by far and stick to their demands.
If any lawyer deliberately avoids attending the court, it will be presumed that he had disobeyed the order and he will have to face serious consequences, including initiation of proceedings for contempt of court under the Contempt of Courts Act, the order stated. Since the judgment of the Supreme Court has been violated and keeping in mind the interest of the poor litigants, the bench said it deems it just and necessary to issue these directions.
Meanwhile the courts are in functioning without lawyers. Complainants or accused or their family members themselves are taking part in hearing. In Gwalior , in one of such hearing the family members succeeded to get bail for Pushpendra Rawat and atendra Rawat who were in jail for last 22 months. In another case high court Gwalior bench allowed a rape victim to abort on his father’s plea.