Members of the Advocates’ Association Bangalore decided to continue their strike on Wednesday, despite Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen once again assuring them that he will do all that he can and requesting them to call off their boycott of courts.
The Chief Justice, hinting that his patience is running out, said, “I never knew I had so much patience. But these 10 days have proved it. But my only regret is that when you (advocates) assured me that you would call off the boycott, you did not. You assured me to call off the strike at least eight times and have gone back. Bar must know… we have not gone back.” Association President K.N. Subba Reddy told Justice Sen that majority of the senior advocates were against the ongoing agitation, but around 10 per cent of young members were not willing to budge. The CJ asked, “Are you saying that they are not listening to you? We would like to take up public interest cases, but you say that the agitation is called off, but you still continue. Will you call off the strike now? This is my humble request to the legal fraternity to come back to the court. You are playing into the hands of just ten percent minuscule.”
When Mr Reddy pleaded with the CJ to withdraw additional forces deployed at lower court premises, the latter told him that it had been withdrawn. The CJ said, “You have been telling us that the policemen who were there on the first day of the incident are still there. That is not true. Those who were there on the first day are not on duty anymore here.”
Mr Reddy said Law Minister S. Suresh Kumar met them and requested them to call off the boycott. But the lawyers said their demands should be met. “We made it clear that until the CM heard us, we would not withdraw the boycott of courts,” Mr Reddy added.