The Himachal Pradesh High Court Bar Association has received notice from the Supreme Court to pause work in order to observe the death of a lawyer

 The Himachal Pradesh High Court Bar Association has received notice from the Supreme Court to pause work in order to observe the death of a lawyer

The Himachal Pradesh High Court Bar Association received notice from the Supreme Court on Tuesday, November 7, after a letter from the high court's registrar general claiming that members had skipped work due to the death of an attorney.

Judges Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia's bench was in charge of contempt cases brought against attorneys who were discovered to have used force during an Odisha strike last year. Mass brawls broke out between attorneys and police during the strike, which was sparked by a long-standing demand for a permanent bench of the Orissa High Court in Sambalpur, in the western region of the state. Judge Kaul's bench responded by giving the state government and the law enforcement organization directives to take tough measures against the attorneys who were on strike. In addition to the concerned advocates' licenses being suspended by the Bar Council of India, other police arrests also took place.

At a recent hearing, the court voiced concern with a tradition common in the eastern state of halting court activity as a token of respect for departed attorneys. The court has routinely issued instructions against lawyers' strikes and come down hard on any abstentions from work. The bench previously said that, notwithstanding the terrible nature of a lawyer's passing, judicial activity cannot be stopped when giving notice to an Odisha bar association that had skipped a day of court proceedings due to the death of a member.

On Tuesday, a legal organization in Himachal Pradesh received notice, after the bar association in Odisha. The court requested the Himachal Pradesh High Court Bar Association's comment in response to a letter from the registrar-general of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which claimed a day's absence from work. Judge Kaul declared –

"A letter reporting a bar association's abstinence from court activity has been recorded. It was sent to the Supreme Court secretary general by the registrar general of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in Shimla. A well-respected attorney died away. Accordingly, on September 9, abstention was carried out. The secretary of the Himachal Pradesh High Court Bar Association is to be notified.

The supreme court has already ordered striking attorneys to return to work or given their prolonged absence serious notice. The court imposed restrictions and kept an eye on the Sambalpur strike last year in response to the demand for an ongoing one bench in the western district. In more recent years, the Rajasthan High Court Bar Association at the Jaipur Bench received notification of the attorneys' non-attendance as a result of a strike.

The court has shown its frustration with the strikes by attorneys on many occasions. A noteworthy request was made by the Supreme Court in April to all high courts to form grievance redressal panels that would include the chief justice as well as two other senior judges, one from the Bar and one from the Services. This ruling was made in a suo motu case involving nationwide bar association strikes that severely disrupted the court's operations.