Consider Draft Advocates Protection Bill Prepared By Delhi Bar Associations: Delhi HC To NCT Govt.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the Delhi government to consider the draft Advocates Protection Bill that the Coordination Committee of All District Courts Bar Associations presented and to hold a stakeholder consultation on the same.

Justice Prathiba M Singh ordered that after the examination of the draft bill and consultation, an action taken report should be furnished to the Court.

The Court stated that, “Let GNCTD take steps to consider the representation submitted. Let stakeholder consultation also be done. After consultation and examination of the draft bill, let the action taken report be furnished.”

Justice Singh passed the order while dealing with a plea filed by Advocates Deepa Joseph and Alpha Phiris Dayal seeking the enactment of an Advocates Protection Act (APA) for the national capital.

Advocate KC Mittal appeared for the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) while informing that the Court’s Coordination Committee has prepared a draft of the bill and sent it to the Delhi government.

Afterwards, the Court passed order asking the government to consider the same. The case will now be considered on September 6.

In their plea, Joseph and Dayal have argued that there is an alarming rise in the incidents of violence against lawyers in Delhi’s courts.

The plea stated that, “Only an Act that guarantees protection to the fraternity of lawyers practising in Delhi will help remove the sense of fear that has embedded in the minds, particularly among young first-generation lawyers like the Petitioners herein due to the repeated acts of firing inside court premises and altercations to state the least.”

Thereby, the petition was filed in the backdrop of the murder of Advocate Virender Narwal, who was shot dead in Dwarka.