IMPORTANT POINTS
The lawyers cannot disrupt court proceedings and put interest of their clients in jeopardy by going on strike or abstaining from court.
Strike amounts to contempt of court and Office bearers of the Associations who give call for the strikes cannot disown their liability for contempt.
Right to freedom of speech cannot be exercised at the cost of the litigants and/or at the cost of the Justice Delivery System as a whole.

JUDGMENT :

M. R. SHAH, J.

1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order dated 25.09.2019 passed by the High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital in Writ Petition (PIL) No. 31 of 2016, the District Bar Association, Dehrarun, through its Secretary, has preferred the present SLP. That by the impugned judgment and order, the High Court in the writ petition (PIL) filed by the private respondent herein has issued the following directions:

“The District Bar Associations of Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar shall, forthwith, withdraw their call for a strike, and start attending Courts on all working Saturdays. All the District Bar Associations in the State shall forthwith refrain from abstaining from Courts because of condolence references for family members of Advocates, or for other reasons. In case they do not start attending Courts, as directed hereinabove, the District Judges concerned shall submit their respective reports to the High Court for it to consider whether action should be initiated against the errant Advocates under the Contempt of Courts Act.

The Bar Council of India shall at the earliest, and in any event within three months from today, take action against the recalcitrant Bar Associations pursuant to its show-cause notice dated 12.07.2019, and ensure that these Bar Associations desist from continuing such strikes/boycott of Courts.

The Uttarakhand State Bar Council shall, within a period of four weeks from today, initiate disciplinary action against the office bearers of the aforesaid District Bar Associations for their having given a call for illegal strikes/boycott of Courts on Saturdays in the judgeship of Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar.

The District Judges of these districts shall ensure that Courts function on Saturdays, and sufficient cases are listed and are disposed of by Courts, under their judgeship, on all working Saturdays.

The Commissioner of Police/Senior Superintendent of Police, of the concerned districts, shall, as and when requested by the District Judge or a Judicial Officer, regarding the possibility of Court proceedings being impeded because of strike/boycott of Courts by Advocates, forthwith provide necessary police protection to ensure smooth functioning of Courts, and thereby prevent any impediment to Court proceedings because of strikes/boycott by Bar Associations/Advocates.

The High Court is requested to consider taking appropriate measures to ensure functioning of Courts on Saturdays, that judicial work is not hampered by such illegal strikes/boycott of Courts and wholly unjustified condolence references, and that the Circular issued by it earlier on 12.03.2019 is implemented.”

2. From the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court, it appears that the Advocates in the entire District of Dehradun, in several districts of Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar district in the State of Uttarakhand have been boycotting the Courts on all Saturdays for the past more than 35 years. As the strikes are seriously obstructing the access to justice to the needy litigants, respondent No. 1 was compelled to approach the High Court by way of Writ Petition (PIL). Having noted from the information sent by the High Court to the Law Commission that with respect to the State of Uttarakhand for the years 2012-2016 showed that in Dehradun district, the Advocates were on strike for 455 days (on an average 91 days per year) and in Haridwar district it is 515 days (about 103 days per year), the High Court was of the opinion that on all such working days on account of strikes and the conduct of the Advocates in boycotting Courts, it has affected the functioning of the Courts and it contributes to the ever-mounting pendency of the cases, and therefore aforesaid directions have been issued by the High Court.

3. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court, the District Bar Association, Dehradun has preferred the present SLP.

4. Sh