Patna High Court wears a deserted look on Friday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, Jan. 20: Around 80,000 lawyers of the state today abstained from court in protest against the Centre’s proposal to regulate law studies through Higher Education & Research Bill, 2011.

The lawyers, from 100 sub-divisional courts, 30 district and sessions courts and high court, also protested against the Legal Practitioners Bill, 2011, meant to curtail Bar council’s powers to take disciplinary action against lawyers for misconduct.

The courts remained open and the judges came for hearings but no lawyer pleaded any case. “The strike was cent per cent successful across the state as lawyers abstained from court proceedings in protest against the Centre’s move to clip the wings of the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the state Bar councils vis-à-vis taking action against lawyers’ misconduct,” Bihar State Bar Council chairman Baleshwar Prasad Sharma told The Telegraph.

Lawyers burnt effigies of union human resources development minister Kapil Sibal and law minister Salman Khurshid at 30 places besides burning copies of both the bills at 50 places across the state, Sharma said.

“The council strongly condemns the Centre’s attempt to encroach upon the provisions of Advocates Act, 1961, with a view to use the functions and duties of elected bodies comprising more than 15 lakh advocates,” the state bar council chairman said.

The Act gives power to the BCI and the state Bar councils to promote legal education and lay down standards of such courses in consultation with the universities, Sharma said. It is also the council’s duty to check whether the institute wishing to run legal education fulfils the infrastructural facilities and availability of quality faculty.

“The council would not allow the inclusion of advocates or legal education in the ambit of the proposed law at any cost,” he added.

“A joint meeting of state Bar councils and Bar council of India has been convened on Janaury 23 in New Delhi to chalk out the future course of action to press for the withdrawal of the provisions concerning the legal fraternity,” Sharma said.

Yogesh Chandra Verma, senior advocate and chairman of coordination committee of all the three lawyers associations of the high court, echoed Sharma’s sentiment.

“Centre’s decision to bring legal practitioners bill, 2011 grossly infringes Bar council’s rights to take action against lawyers who have been facing complaints of misconduct. The bill would take away the council’s right to take or initiate disciplinary action against lawyers,” Verma said.