Bar Council members hold the meet in Patna. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Feb. 19: Bihar State Bar Council (BSBC) today met to review the lawyers’ strike along with the presidents, secretaries and representatives of around 113 Bar associations of the state.

The lawyers’ strike has been continuing for five days to protest against the setting up of evening courts.

Lawyers, representing different Bar associations, expressed their views during a four-hour interactive session with the Bar council and categorically stated that they would be fully backing the decision of the council which would sit tomorrow to take a final decision.

“The purpose of today’s meet was to incorporate the views and opinions of district and sub-divisional Bar associations of the state. And now, we will take a decision on the issue (of evening courts) tomorrow at our general body meeting,” BSBC chairman Baleshwar Prasad Sharma told The Telegraph.

Apart from the presidents and secretaries of 113 Bar associations, all the members of BSBC except the advocate-general were present.

Barring a few, most of the advocates opined that the council should not budge from its stand until and unless the high court withdraws its notification regarding the setting up of one evening court in each district sessions court as they (lawyers) are solidly behind the Bar council on the issue.

However, some of the lawyers held otherwise and suggested that lawyers should just boycott the evening courts as a mark of protest instead of going on a statewide strike, paralysing the entire legal system. Another group of advocates felt that they should have been consulted much before the council issued the strike call.

Meanwhile, the high court has constituted a three-member committee comprising justices V.N. Sinha, Navaniti Prasad Singh, J.N. Singh to hold discussion with the Bar council on the issue of advocates’ problems, which included the contentious issue of evening courts.

The council has constituted a committee of senior lawyers of Patna High Court, Rajendra Prasad Singh, Vishwanath Prasad Sinha, Jai Prakash Sigh and Manan Kumar Mishra.

Nayayapalika Arakshan Andolan national president and high court advocate Arun Kushwaha has appealed the Bar council chairman to end the strike in the interest of common men.

Mishra, the Bar Council of India representative, made it clear that lawyers of Bihar would be also on strike on February 21, which coincidentally happens to be the last day of a weeklong protest called by the Bar Council of India to oppose the central government’s proposed legislation, curbing the Bar council’s power to take disciplinary action against the lawyers.

Around 80,000 lawyers have been fighting against the setting up of evening courts, citing the poor infrastructure, particularly the electricity and poor law and order situation in the state.

“The high court should, instead of setting up evening courts, fill up the vacancies in the lower judiciary,” the council chairman said, while adding that it was an inhumane approach because it was difficult for judicial officers, litigants, lawyers and court staff to work for additional hours.