The Punjab and Haryana Bar Council have recently sent two draft bills [Punjab Advocates (Protection) Bill 2023 and Haryana Advocates (Protection) Bill 2023] to the respective state governments, requesting that they be enacted as soon as possible.
The State Bar Council has warned the government that if adequate steps are not taken, there will be a state-wide agitation.
According to a press release issued by the State Bar Council, recent attacks on advocates and cases of false implication against legal professionals have increased dramatically, necessitating the passage of such act in both states.
“From broad daylight incidents of murder, violent attacks, grievous hurts, kidnapping, intimidation etc in different parts of the states of Punjab and Haryana as well as in the parking of Hon’ble High Court and false implication by disgruntled/opposite parties to the opprobrium of breach of the client-lawyer privilege, there have been many such incidents which have been reported to the State Bar Council by Bar Associations, individual lawyers or their families. The year 2023 alone, as reported so far, has sadly witnessed two broad-daylight murders of Adv Umesh Pal in Uttar Pradesh and the recent of Adv Virender Narwal in Delhi. The trend is clear: lawyers are under attack because of their work, and they need better legal protections to sustain the viability of justice delivery systems,” the press note stated.
According to the Press note, it is the state’s obligation to respect, protect, fulfill, and promote lawyers’ independence and security, as well as their ability to perform their professional duties free from intimidation, hindrance, harassment, improper interference, or reprisals from state and anti-social actors. The Council has sent two draft bills to the government for enactment.
The press release also states that there are laws in place to protect serving professionals in their line of duty, such as journalists and doctors, from acts of violence, and that Rajasthan recently became the first state in the country to pass the Advocates Protection Bill, 2023.
In light of this, the Bar Council has asked the states to act on its demands in the coming days. It has also warned the governments that if adequate steps are not taken, all advocates from Punjab, Haryana, and U.T. Chandigarh will be forced to gather at a mass congregation/maha panchayat and launch a state-wide agitation in this regard (without abstaining/suspending any judicial work).
The Draft Highlights:
Section 3 proposes penalties for committing or assisting in the commission of an act of violence against an advocate [minimum 6 months imprisonment up to 5 years, and a fine of up to Rs. 1 lakh].
Section 4 proposes that compensation be paid to the victim advocate by the person convicted under Section 3.
Section 5 proposes that a Section 3 offense be cognizable and non-bailable.
Section 6 suggests combining offenses.
Section 7 proposes providing police protection to an advocate who is threatened with violence.
