New Delhi, 27 October (H.S.): Lawyers across all district courts in Delhi boycotted judicial proceedings on Tuesday in protest against the alleged mistreatment and intimidation of advocates at Shahdara police station.

The Coordination Committee of All District Courts Bar Associations called for the boycott over the alleged incident. On Tuesday, lawyers from Karkardooma Court staged a protest outside the office of the Joint Commissioner of Police for East Delhi, demanding the immediate suspension of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Manasvi Vashishth and the concerned station house officer (SHO) until an impartial investigation into the matter is completed.

The dispute stems from an incident in which advocate Lalit Bansal allegedly sustained serious head injuries. The Coordination Committee has accused the police of failing to take appropriate action against those allegedly responsible. It further alleged that when lawyers subsequently visited the police station, they were subjected to threatening behaviour. Advocate Amulya Ratan is the complainant in the case.

The committee said the severity of Bansal’s injuries warranted prompt, effective and impartial action by the police. On the evening of October 23, several lawyers visited Shahdara police station and demanded legal action against those allegedly responsible for the incident.

According to the committee, the ACP and the station house officer assured the lawyers that the accused would be arrested. However, when the advocates returned to the police station on October 24, they allegedly discovered that the accused had not been arrested and had instead been allowed to leave. This reportedly triggered considerable resentment among the legal fraternity.

The committee further alleged that when the lawyers returned to question the police response and demand accountability, ACP Manasvi Vashishth displayed his revolver and threatened the advocates present at the police station.

In a resolution issued on October 26, the Coordination Committee said the incidents had raised serious concerns regarding the dignity, safety and independence of lawyers. Describing the matter as grave, it maintained that the advocates had approached the police through lawful means to seek action but had allegedly faced intimidation and threatening behaviour in return.

During an emergency meeting held via video conference on October 26, the committee adopted a resolution demanding the immediate suspension of ACP Manasvi Vashishth and the concerned SHO pending an impartial investigation.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar