Social activist writes to CJI for his intervention to end lawyers strike in Jammu

A Jammu-based social activist has written a letter to Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, seeking his intervention to end the ongoing strike by lawyers in the region.

Displaying the letter, Sukesh C Khajuria said the Supreme Court as well as the Jammu and Kashmir High Court have time and again ruled that lawyers cannot go on strike as it impedes the administration of justice "but it is quite shocking that almost a month has lapsed, there is no headway and no action has been taken by the high court to declare the ongoing strike by lawyers as illegal".

The lawyers went on an indefinite strike on November 1 to protest against the administration's decision to divest the courts of powers to register various documents and vest the same with the Revenue Department.

The Jammu chapter of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association is spearheading the strike which has badly affected the judicial work in the high court and its subordinate courts in most parts of Jammu region in the last three weeks.

"The agitating lawyers of Jammu have blocked the entry points to the courts, both high court as well as subordinate courts and even the litigants or the general public are not allowed to have access to justice as the main doors leading to the courts have been closed," Khajuria said in his letter to the CJI.

He said that since there is a deadlock and entire judicial machinery and administration of justice has come to a grinding halt, the intervention of the Supreme Court becomes imperative to provide relief to the people.

He urged the CJI for his personal intervention so that "this indefinite strike which is causing immense loss to the reputation of the judiciary in general and to the public at large in particular is ended".