India: Delhi Lawyers Strike Work Against Bills

NEW DELHI (NNN-IANS) -- Delhi lawyers Friday observed a day-long strike as part of the Bar Council of India's nationwide protest against two bills, including one which they claim will take away the powers of the Council to hear complaints against lawyers, said the Delhi Bar Association.

The strike paralysed legal proceedings of all six district courts.

A group of lawyers went inside the 2G scam special CBI court and requested prosecution and defence counsel to stop the proceedings. They asked counsel of the case to join in their strike.

Judges held court as usual but in the absence of lawyers most cases were put off to other dates.

The strike was observed to protest the Legal Practitioners Bill, 2010, and the Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011.

"The government intends to take over the powers of the Bar Council by establishing ombudsmen, consisting of judges, to hear complaints against lawyers, and take over the authority of the council over legal education," said Rajiv Khosla, spokesperson of coordination committee of all District Court Bar Associations of Delhi. -- NNN-IANS