Protesting lawyers get political support

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, July 1

The members of the district bar association who have been sitting on fast until death demanding abolition of circuit courts today got political support.

Former minister and senior BJP leader Kishan Kapoor today visited the district courts where the members of the bar are sitting on an indefinite hunger strike. Kapoor said the demands of the members of Dharamsala district bar were genuine. He said that the circuit courts that have been established at the sub divisional levels were causing more inconvenience to the litigants rather than helping them. The demand for setting up circuit bench of Himachal High Court at Dharamsala was long pending. The previous BJP government in the state had written to the union government for setting up a circuit court of Himachal High court at Dharamsala. Now the present state government should pursue the case, he said.

Kapoor also questioned the silence of the local minister and congress MLA from the area Sudhir Sharma over the issue.

Meanwhile, the newly elected Mayor of Dharamsala Rajni and Deputy Mayor Davinder Jaggi also visited the dharna site and expressed their solidarity with the bar members.

Today on the fourth day the condition of three of seven lawyers sitting on indefinite hunger strike deteriorated. The indefinite hunger strike was started by five lawyers but yesterday two more lawyers had joined it. The condition of Tek Chand Rana, president of the district bar association who is a septuagenarian, deteriorated. The other two lawyers whose condition is deteriorating are Ankur Sony, general secretary of the bar association, and Richa Vashisht, joint secretary.

The sources here said that the district administration tried to initiate dialogue with the protesting members of the bar to persuade them to shift Tek Chand Rana and other two lawyers whose condition was deteriorating to hospital. However, the bar members refused the request. Instead, apprehending that Tek Chand Rana might be shifted forcibly to hospital, the members of bar sat on a dharna surrounding them to prevent such a move.

The members of Dharamsala are alleging that until the written assurance given to them regarding abolition of three circuit courts at Baijnath, Jawali and Indora was not implemented they shall continue their dharna.

There are six circuit courts in Kangra district. These were established in 2013 by the former Chief Justice of Himachal High Court. The members of district bar association of Dharamsala have alleged that the establishment of circuit courts had hit their livelihood.