According to a report in the Times of India newspaper, the action forced local judges to oversee court proceedings without the assistance of lawyers. The newspaper said that Chief Justice Arun Mishra was not initially informed of the strike and only became aware of the action after asking why so few lawyers were present.
The action was taken after two lawyers were reportedly beaten by a gas agency official in Jyoti Nagar police station area.

Manhandling

But the strike did not win universal support from the upper echelons of the Indian legal profession. Vibhuti Bhushan Sharma, President of Rajasthan High Court Bar Association, told the newspaper: ‘I am with those lawyers who want to argue their cases and if you are afraid of this group of lawyers I will escort you to your respective court rooms and will see that no manhandling occurs. I especially request the designate senior advocates not to support such acts by lawyers where the bar association is not taken into confidence. They are nobody to decide strikes without our call.’

Edinburgh boycott

Meanwhile, lawyers in Edinburgh again boycotted custody courts yesterday and were joined by lawyers in Glasgow and Paisley in the latest protests against legal aid cuts proposed by the Scottish Government.
The Scotsman newspaper reports that almost 240 people who had been arrested and appeared from cells were given the option of waiting for the duty lawyer or representing themselves.
Scottish lawyers are protesting against government plans to make anyone with a weekly disposable income of at least £68 a week -- or more than £750 in savings – contribute to legal costs. The government said it was ‘deeply concerned’ that the action was causing many to appear without counsel.
Cameron Tait, president of the Edinburgh Bar Association, said: ‘The profession struggles to understand why the government is intent on driving through badly thought-out changes in the face of concerns not just from solicitors but academics and charities.’