The 78-day-long standoff between lawyers and police in the State was resolved amicably in the High Court here on Wednesday when both the sides expressed regrets for their conducts and the developments that unfolded during all these days after the August 28 unsavoury incident in which three policemen had brutally assaulted a lawyer in Cuttack after his car was involved in a series of road accidents.
While the policemen tendered “unconditional apology” for assaulting lawyer Debi Prasanna Patnaik at a marketplace on August 28, High Court Bar Association president Srikant Naik on behalf of the lawyers’ fraternity also expressed regrets over the assault on a policeman in the High Court premises on October 29.
The row was resolved in the court of Justice CR Dash, who on Monday had suggested this compromise formula to end the Statewide lawyers’ strike. The strike had paralysed judicial activities in all courts and tribunals of the State putting the general public in untold miseries. Jails across the State were also overcrowded as criminal courts could not take up bail pleas of under-trial prisoners (UTPs).
Soon after the conciliation plan was impeccably worked out under the supervision of Justice Dash, the general body of the High Court Bar Association met and unanimously resolved to call off the strike. “We will resume court works from Thursday,” said the association president calling upon all other bar associations of the State to follow suit.
Naik further disclosed that the High Court has formed a high-level committee headed by a retired judge of the High Court to look into any dispute that may arise between police and lawyers in future. The committee would have senior lawyers, top policemen and bureaucrats in it. “The decision of the committee will be binding on both lawyers and policemen,” he said.
In another development, the Ganjam District Bar Association on Wednesday decided to cease work on Thursday in protest against Tuesday’s alleged attack on lawyer Haraprasad Dash by policemen inside the Buguda police station of the district. A delegation of the bar met range DIG Ashis Singh and urged him to take stringent action against the erring policemen after registering a case under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC.