HC directed meeting of lawyers, cops on their clash cancelled

The coordination committee of All District Courts Associations Thursday said the meeting, which was to be held on the directions of the Delhi High Court after the lawyers-cops clash, was cancelled as senior police officers were not present.

"Meeting with police cancelled by coordination committee as senior police officers were not in the meeting. Only the Joint Commissioner of Police, Rajesh Khurana, was there. We want seniors to be there. All were there from the coordination committee. So we walked out from there without having any discussion," said Dhir Singh Kasana, secretary of All District Courts Bar Associations.

The high court had Wednesday expressed anguish over the "dissonance and friction" prevailing between the bar and the police -- which represent and constitute "the preserver and the protector of the rule of law" and suggested a meeting between "responsible representatives" of both sides to "sort out their differences amicably, on the basis of discussion and deliberations".

The strike would continue for the fifth day on Friday but litigants will have full access to courts, he said.

"Abstinence from work in all Delhi District Courts will continue tomorrow. In order to ensure success of the movement, all are requested to maintain the movement peacefully. Litigants be permitted to have access to the court rooms," Kasana said.

The tension between police personnel and lawyers had been building up since last Saturday when a clash over a parking dispute led to at least 20 security personnel and several advocates being injured.

Lawyers in six district courts are abstaining from work since November 4, protesting against the clash.

Thousands of police personnel protested outside the Police Headquarters on Tuesday to demand action against those involved in an attack on their colleague outside the Saket court, the unprecedented scenes of police protest leading their chief Amulya Patnaik urging them to resume duty.