Ghaziabad: Lawyers in Ghaziabad, who had decided to resume work from Monday, have decided to extend their protest. The Bar Association said lifting the strike would weaken their struggle, and they wouldn't return to work until the district judge was removed.
After a two-week-long strike over an alleged lathi charge at the Ghaziabad district court on Oct 29, the city's lawyers held a mahapanchayat on Nov 16 and decided to resume work from Monday. The panchayat also passed a resolution condemning the baton charge incident and demanded an FIR against the cops involved. The protesters had said they would observe a strike every Wednesday if their demands were not met.
Ghaziabad Bar Association president Deepak Sharma said, "The lawyers held a meeting and decided that if the strike is called off, it would weaken the struggle. So, we have decided to continue our protest till our demands are met."
On Oct 29, a group of around 50 lawyers interrupted proceedings at district and sessions judge Anil Kumar's court around 11.30am. Led by advocate Nahar Singh Yadav, they wanted the judge to stop hearing the case he was attending to and take up theirs immediately.
Police attempted to escort the lawyers out, but resorted to a lathi-charge when the lawyers allegedly tried to force themselves into the judge's chambers and manhandled a senior police officer. Three lawyers were injured during the altercation and taken to a hospital for treatment of head injuries.
The lawyers' protest, which began on Oct 29, escalated into an indefinite strike on Nov 4. Tension escalated on Nov 12 when lawyers blocked a road in front of the court for two hours, resulting in two FIRs against them for rioting and obstructing public access.