Court boycotts: HC initiates contempt proceedings against Bar Associations

The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday registered suo motu contempt proceedings against office-bearers of the Bar Associations that called upon the advocates to abstain from the court work.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka ordered notice to the office-bearers of the Bar Associations in Mandya and Davangere districts. The Chief Justice had made an appeal on February 3 asking bar associations not to boycott the court proceedings.

The appeal was made after receiving reports from the district courts about the resolutions passed by the Bar Associations in Mandya and Davangere districts. The CJ had stated in the letter that such conduct violates the apex court's order in Captain Harish Uppal's case, where it was held that lawyers have no right to go on strike or give a call for boycott, not even a token strike. The letter also said that abstaining from court work or boycotting the court proceedings amounts to interference with the administration of justice.

The bench on Thursday noted that a report submitted by the registry showed that bar associations of Mandya, Maddur, Srirangapatna, Pandavapura, Malavalli, KR Pet and Davangere abstained from court work on various dates. Some associations abstained from work even on February 6 and 8. The bench observed that at least two bar associations have taken recourse to boycott even after an appeal was made by the CJ on February 3, 2021.

"Apart from the fact that prima facie it amounts to criminal contempt it must be noted here that the functioning of all courts was adversely affected which brought about sufferings to the litigants and the members of the bar. Now that normalcy has been substantially restored, the associations cannot take recourse to strike or boycott,” the bench said.

The court directed the Registrar General to take steps to initiate separate suo motu contempt proceedings against the office-bearers of the bar associations which took recourse to abstain from court work.