Protesting against policemen beating up their counterparts in Lucknow, lawyers in several parts of the country on Saturday went on the warpath boycotting courts.
An altercation in Parivartan Chowk in Lucknow on Friday over a trivial issue had led to incidents of brick batting and arson leaving 36 people injured. Police had to resort to lathicharge to control the situation.
Uttar Pradesh Governor T V Rajeshwar termed the clashes as 'unfortunate' and appealed to the lawyers to withdraw their agitation.
"The confrontation between the lawyers and policemen should not have happened. The judicial inquiry ordered by Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav will reveal the facts behind it," the governor, who visited the injured lawyers in the hospital, told reporters in Lucknow.
Avadh Bar Association president Ashok Nigam met the governor in the morning to apprise him of their side of the story.
Former prime minister and Member of Parliament from Lucknow Atal Bihari Vajpayee reached Lucknow on Saturday to meet the agitating lawyers.
"I will first take stock of the situation from the lawyers and other parties involved in Friday's clashes and then speak about it," he told reporters on his arrival.
Meanwhile, the Avadh Bar Association has decided to hold its general body meeting on September 7 to chalk out its future course of action. Sources in the association said Friday's resolution for boycotting the courts would be reviewed at the meeting.
Functioning of the lower courts in the national capital was on Saturday affected with nearly 20,000 lawyers remaining away from work protesting Friday's police action in Lucknow.
Advocates of lower courts in Patiala House, Tees Hazari and Karkardooma are boycotting all judicial work to protest alleged 'human rights violations committed by the police in Lucknow', Delhi Bar Association president Rajiv Khosla said.
"They (police) interfered in the administration of justice by preventing advocates from going to court. We are advising our brother advocates in Lucknow to file criminal cases against the police personnel who beat them up," Khosla said, claiming it amounts to contempt of court.
In Jaipur, functioning of lower courts was paralysed after lawyers went on a strike protesting against the police action on advocates in Lucknow. The courts have granted new dates to litigants who personally appeared before them.
In Orissa, responding to the Orissa High Court Bar Association's call for a statewide protest, lawyers in many parts of the state boycotted court proceedings.
Association secretary Amitabh Das told mediapersons in Cuttack that the protest would continue till Tuesday when the general body meeting of the Bar would decide on the future course of action.
President of the Bhubaneswar Bar Association Harekrishna Mohanty condemned the 'barbaric' action of police at Lucknow and said work in all courts, including the arbitration tribunal, in the state capital was affected.
Lawyers at Sambalpur and Nayagarh took out processions and demonstrated in front of the offices of the district collectors condemning the police action and demanded action against erring cops.