The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday restrained two lawyers from practicing law in Uttar Pradesh courts after they were found to have ill-treated a civil court judge and leading a crowd which assaulted litigants in a case.The division bench of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Mohd Azhar Husain Idrisi also asked the lawyers Ran Vijay Singh and Mohd. Asif to show cause why they be not punished for committing criminal contempt of court.“In the facts of the case, we also invoke our jurisdiction under Chapter XXIV Rule 11(2) of Allahabad High Court Rules, 1952 and prohibit Ran Vijay Singh and Mohd. Asif from entering the premises of District Judgeship at Allahabad. These advocates are restrained from practice in the State of UP,” ordered the Court.The order was passed after the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division), Prayagraj wrote a reference to the High Court stating that while proceedings in a suit was going on, a group of lawyers entered the courtroom and started pressurising the judge to take up another suit where Singh himself is a plaintiff.“The Presiding Officer was pressurized to take up the case of Original Suit No.152 of 2023 immediately and the litigants of the aforesaid matter were physically assaulted inside the Court. The Presiding Officer was also ill-treated,” the civil court judge said in the reference.It was also stated that the President of the Bar had tried to resolve the issue but Singh and Asif did not even listen to him.The President of the Bar Association thereafter, left the Court in order to save himself, the civil judge said.Further, the crowd which had come with the lawyers even allegedly came on the dais and physically assaulted two litigants. When they tried to enter the judge’s chamber to save themselves, the crowd brought by the lawyers followed them and assaulted them there also, as per the reference.Though the Police were informed, it was much later they arrived and the Presiding Officer could enter the Court.Taking a serious note of the incident, the High Court said,“It has left a serious question mark on the manner in which the court proceedings are being conducted. The reference made by the Presiding Officer shows a complete breakdown of the court proceedings at the instance of lawyers. Instances of this kind pose a serious challenge to the very functioning of the judicial system and the incident has to be viewed seriously.”The Court asked the District Judge of Prayagraj to submit a report, after examining the CCTV footage on involvement of other counsel and individuals. It also asked the Commissioner of Police to submit a report with regard to security arrangements existing in the court premises.“The Commissioner will also ensure that adequate police force is deployed on the instructions of the District Judge, Prayagraj, so that the incident of kind does not recur,” the Court ordered.
TAGS: Allahabad High Court lawyers practice ban criminal contempt ill-treatment assault civil court judge courtroom incident
