CJI Ranjan Gogoi rejects Bar Councils demand to lift ban on lawyers strike

October 6: A bench of the Supreme Court in the year 2002 gave a judgement wherein it was stated that lawyers have no right to go on strike or give a call for boycott, not even a token strike. Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra raised the issue of lifting the ban at a BCI event to felicitate the new CJI Ranjan Gogoi.

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Saturday disagreed with the suggestion by the apex bar body to lift the 16-year-old ban on strikes by lawyers, wondering why there should be a strike at all. The CJI’s view was also shared by the apex court’s Justice Arun Mishra, who reminded the lawyers that their absence in court will affect people’s liberty and deny many of their rights.

“Can we afford jungle raj? Can we shut the doors for common man in rule of law? How many person’s liberty is affected when you are not in court that day. How many persons are bereft of their rights that day,” said Justice Mishra. Echoing his views, Justice Arun Mishra said that the strikes of the Bar can only be supported in “exceptional cases when the democracy is in danger” or for “saving the judicial system” but otherwise “it has no right to go on strike”.