Bengal: Lawyers dub new criminal laws 'anti-people', abstain from judicial work

Kolkata, Jul 1 (PTI) A section of lawyers at Calcutta High Court and district courts in West Bengal abstained from judicial work on Monday on a protest call by the state’s Bar Council against the three new criminal laws.

Terming the new laws “anti-people, undemocratic and draconian”, the Bar Council urged lawyers in West Bengal and the Andaman Nicobar Islands to observe July 1 as a ‘black day’.

The lawyers who did not attend judicial work also wore black badges to protest against the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, which replace the British-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively.

The Bar Council had last week taken a resolution that lawyers practising in courts in West Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands would abstain from judicial work on Monday as a mark of protest against the new laws.

On a petition by an individual challenging the resolution, the high court had on Friday said that no one can be compelled to observe strike or cease work.

Observing that lawyers discharge public function for litigants, the high court directed that the resolution would not be treated as a mandate on the advocates to abstain from work.

Bar Council of West Bengal Chairman Ashok Kumar Deb said it will hold an emergency meeting to determine the future course of action. PTI AMR RBT