Asansol district court lawyers go on strike, judicial services come to a halt; demand for talks with police administration

Nirbhik Bangla, Asansol News: Asansol, July 20: Lawyers in Asansol district court staged a work boycott on Monday over allegations of mistreatment by the police administration against their colleagues. Members of the Asansol Bar Association joined the protest by closing the main gate of the court, disrupting normal court proceedings and causing inconvenience to both police administration and common people seeking justice. Arunav Mukherjee, President of Asansol Bar Association, stated that recently some outsiders had filed complaints at the police station against a few lawyers who were not present in court at the time of the complaints. He alleged that without proper verification, the police had proactively registered cases. In protest of this incident, lawyers had staged a sit-in demonstration last Saturday. On Monday, they intensified their agitation by closing the court gates and observing a work boycott. During the protest, police personnel from various stations were unable to enter the court premises, disrupting their official work. The lawyers have demanded that the higher authorities of Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate visit the spot and resolve the issue through discussion, only then would they withdraw their protest and reopen the court gates. Veteran lawyers Shekhar Kundu and Bani Mandal, along with almost all lawyers of Asansol court, participated in Monday's work boycott and protest. The agitation caused hardships for both judicial proceedings and common litigants.