Lawyers at loggerheads over allotment of chambers
Manmeet Singh Gill
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, March 28
The advocates’ fraternity at the sub-divisional courts is divided over the issue of procedure to be adopted for allotment of chambers even before the construction of the building is complete.
The warring factions are the old and the young lawyers. While the old lawyers said that allotment of the chambers in the upcoming chamber complex should be made on the basis of seniority of the lawyer, the young members reasoned that as they had pooled equal amounts of money, the allotment should be done through draw of lots.
The condition has aggravated to such an extent that a faction had got a police case registered against 11 young members. The young members in return have removed Avatar Singh Sandhu from the post of president of the bar association by passing a resolution.
Mandeep Singh Mohar, newly elected president of the association, said, “We have already met high court judge SK Mittal, who is the presiding judge of Amritsar district, and he has assured that the FIR would be quashed.”
He said they have also dissolved the building committee constituted to oversee the work of chambers complex. “The rules of building committee of Punjab and Haryana High Court are clear. As per the rules, the allotment is to be made through draw of lots but any member with age exceeding 65 years or having a standing of more than 30 years at the bar has to be adjusted on the ground floor.”
The fissures between old and young lawyers had erupted when few of the members had put up their name plates outside under construction chambers stating that the building committee had allotted these to them. However, as these plates were allegedly removed, a complaint was made against 11 young lawyers.
The process for building a chambers complex had started with the district administration providing land for it. Later the members had pooled around Rs 2.5 lakh each to make possible the construction 50 chambers. The Ajnala bar has a total of 67 members.
