Elections 2019: Lawyers Of Western UP To Protest Modi’s Poll Rally Today

Lawyers across the districts of western Uttar Pradesh have gone on strike and are set to protest against the first visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Meerut on 28 March — over their long-standing demand for a separate bench of the Allahabad High Court at Meerut.

Lawyers in western UP have been demanding the setting up of a high court bench in their region for over 22 years now, said Devki Nandan Sharma, senior advocate and president of the High Court Bench Sthapna Sangharh Samiti.

“The government could have easily got it done because the BJP was in power both at the Centre and in the state. The government knows very well that this has been a long-pending demand, and even BJP workers have protested with us over this several times in the past. But now they treat us like we are nothing and pay no heed to our demand,” Sharma said.

He said the Sangarsh Samiti has urged all Bar Associations of different districts in western Uttar Pradesh to stage a protest during the rallies of PM Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the rally venue. Modi will kickstart his Lok Sabha election campaign from Meerut on 28 March.

“Let me ensure that the advocates will carry out a peaceful agitation. We have registered our protest in the past as well by boycotting work. The Prime Minister should at least know the reason behind our struggle,” he Sharma said, adding that if lawyers could boycott work, then they could also boycott voting which would make it difficult for the BJP to retain west UP.

Read More: Elections 2019: How BJP Could Lose in Uttar Pradesh

Veteran advocate Naresh Chandra Sharma, who now works as a legal consultant, told Newsclick about the struggles that practising advocates face in western UP.

He said a single hearing, whether at the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court or at the main bench in Allahabad, takes at least five days. The cost of the case also increases, which often becomes difficult and the client loses interest in fighting the case at all.

“There are many clients who can bear the cost of going to Lucknow or Allahabad for a hearing, spending five days and some money on travel and stay, but is a much larger chunk of people who cannot bear these expenses and they stop fighting their cases midway. These clients disappear and we know why. The demand is not just for the clients, this is also for the sake of advocates who practise here because it is not feasible for them to go to the state capital or to Allahabad multiple times a month for the hearing as well,” he said.

“The work of advocates is such that they have to dig a well every day to drink water. An advocate will suffer a loss if he or she goes out for five days. We have a common saying here, that going from Meerut to Lahore is easier as it is just 400 km but going to Allahabad is more difficult as it is 724 km from here,” said Naresh Chandra Sharma.

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Advocate Kamal Bhargava said it is a matter of the rights of all advocates practising in west UP, and setting up a bench here will also help the judiciary in finishing off with the pendency of court cases.

As per a report of the National Judicial Data Grid that was published in January 2018, there are as many as 3.3 crores cases pending with the courts in India — with Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat and West Bengal having the highest numbers of pending cases. The backlog of cases in Uttar Pradesh as per this report is 61.58 lakhs.

For example, businessman Umesh Gupta who has been fighting a case of land grab for the past five years told Newsclick that he had spent more than Rs 20 lakh and had even sold a piece of land just for the case.

“I am a small-time businessman and I do not earn much. My daughter today would have been studying in the best institute and would have been a CA, but I could not afford it because I have no money left, thanks to this case. If a bench was set up here, it would be far easier for us all,” he said.