Protesting lawyers take to streets, march to India Gate

Work at district courts came to a standstill as the lawyers, abstaining from work, organised a protest march and burnt the effigy of Union Law Minister Sadananda Gowda. “We are protesting against the U-turn made by the law minister. This is just the beginning. If the government doesn’t consider our demands, we will intensify the movement,” R K Wadhwa, chairman of the co-ordination committee, All District Bar Association of Delhi, said.

Traffic came to a standstill near Hyderabad House, Patiala House court and on Copernicus Marg due to the protest.

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“We are all united over this issue. It is about the larger issue of justice at doorstep for the litigants,” advocate Sanjeev Nasiar said.

Meanwhile, a public meeting of lawyers was organised on the occasion on the premises of Patiala House court. “We will wait and watch about the response from the government and, accordingly, we will decide the future course of action,” Nasiar said.

Questioning the presence of a large contingent of police at the protest, Vinod Sharma, president of Saket Bar, said, “Delhi Police has deployed so many personnel. Are we terrorists?”

The demand for increasing the pecuniary limits of district courts from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 2 crore has been going on since long. However, Union government has now linked the issue with the Commercial Division Bill. This move has irked the district court advocates, who contend that both the issues are different.