Lawyers stage protest in Jammu for construction of multi-storey building within court premises

Pic: Rakesh/Excelsior

Jammu, Aug 3: Hundreds of lawyers on Wednesday staged a protest outside Raj Bhavan here in support of their demands, including construction of a multi-storey building for housing various tribunals and offices within the court complexes.
The Jammu chapter of J&K High Court Bar Association (JKHCBA) organized the hour-long protest and threatened to intensify their agitation if Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha-led administration did not pay attention towards its demands.
“We had submitted a memorandum of our demands to Lt Governor Manoj Sinha in November last year, but it seems the government has lost the papers, forcing us to abstain from work and come on the roads to highlight our issues,” JKHCBA (Jammu chapter) president M K Bhardwaj told reporters here.
The lawyers, who were carrying national flags and chanted slogans in support of their demands and against the lieutenant governor, came in a rally from high court complex to the protest site and later dispersed off peacefully.
“Due to the shifting of the courts and tribunals outside the district court complex, lawyers fraternity and general public are facing insurmountable hardships.
“We are seeking the housing of the different tribunals in a single multi-dimensional complex of High Court where adequate space is available besides the district and muffasil courts across Jammu and Kashmir,” Bhardwaj said.
He said many of the cases remain unattended due to the scattered nature of the tribunal, offices of sub-registrars and other allied institutions.
As part of their two-day protest, the lawyers on Tuesday also abstained from work and took out a bike rally from the high court complex in Janipur to various parts of the city in support of their demands.
Bhardwaj urged the administration to take immediate appropriate steps to resolve all the long pending demands of the lawyers fraternity. (Agencies)