All eyes are now focused on the crucial general body meeting of the High Court Bar Association here on Friday, where the aggrieved lawyers would decide whether they will continue with their 70-day long strike or call it off.

 Spearheaded by the Bar Association, lawyers across the State are on strike since August 29 demanding arrest of the policemen who had assaulted a colleague of their in full public glare on a busy street at Nuabazaar here on August 28 following a series of road accidents.

Although there was some indications earlier this month that the strike would end after the High Court ordered that a sitting judge would monitor the police investigations into the four criminal cases arising out of the unsavoury incidents of August 28, last week’s decision of the State Government to revoke the suspension orders on the erring policemen has complicated the situation further. 

While a section of the lawyers are adamant and argue for continuation of the strike saying “No Arrest (of the policemen), No Court”, another section is working out strategies to bring to an end to the strike by involving the senior advocates to find a solution.

Both the camps are, however, tightlipped and are waiting to vent their respective stands at the general body meeting scheduled for Friday, which is likely to be stormy under the prevailing situations. The mood of the general body meeting would, nevertheless, be guided by the outcome of the hearings of all the three PILs by the High Court on the day.

Posting the matters to be heard on Friday, the High Court last month had asked the Crime Branch IGP to submit charge-sheets of all the related criminal cases. The police too are also maintaining silence; and it is not known yet as to whether the IGP, who was on leave for illness, is submitting the charge-sheets on Friday or not.