Lawyers, judges ditch cars, ride cycles to court

Ajmer: Wednesday morning was a sight to behold! One could see senior judges pedalling side by side junior magistrates on their bicycles. Setting an example for the entire city, several judges, lawyers and many employees of the district and sessions court cycled to the court premises from their residences on Wednesday.
The initiative came after high court judge Mahesh Chand Sharma asked the Ajmer Bar Association to do their bit for the environment.The move will help the city go greener and make it traffic free. Senior judges also supported the initiative and reached the court on bicycles.
For many advocates it was a task to ride cycles while others broke into a sweat on a cloudy day. For former district bar association president Rajesh Tandon, riding a cycle was not easy but he practised over the last three days to encourage staff members and lawyers.
"It is a really good experiment initiated from Ajmer and the message will go to other districts of the state," said Mohan Singh Rathore, president of bar association.
Several veteran advocates, who had stopped cycling since long, were excited at getting the opportunity.
"This will give a message even to the people of the city that riding cycle will not only keep them fit but also help control pollution," said senior advocate Charanjeet Singh Oberoi.
"Overall we got good support from judges and advocates in this public mission," added Ramesh Acharya, secretary of the bar association. Even the court staff was keen on the issue and supported the social cause. On Wednesday there were fewer vehicles outside the court in comparison to ordinary days. Meanwhile, a faction of advocates, though happy with the decision of cycling to work, said that the judiciary should work on other types of pollution too.