Nearly 8,000 cases affected due to indefinite strike in Jammu

Jammu, Jul 7 (UNI) The consecutive tenth day of lawyers' boycott of the courts here has affected nearly 8000 cases, including 700 cases in Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

Talking to UNI, the Registrar Judicial of High Court D K Kapoor said the High Court commenced from July 3 and since then, over 700 cases had been affected due to the lawyers' strike.

''During five working days, no case could be taken up for hearing and proceedings were badly affected,'' he added.

Besides, the Principal Judge Subhash Gupta told UNI that no case had been heard in the last 10 days, including nine working days.

''We have total 20 courts where around 40 cases had been heard, therefore, around 800 cases are being affected daily due to strike,'' he added.

The judicial activities were totally paralysed following the strike of lawyers and around 8,000 cases have been affected in various courts including the High Court, a judiciary source said.

The lawyers of High Court and lower courts in Jammu went on indefinite strike on June 28 against the denial of right of defence and threat issued to lawyers in Srinagar while representing their clients. The agitated lawyers were demanding transfer of sex scandal case to Jammu.

Talking to UNI over phone, Jammu Bar Association (JBA) president Ved Raj Wazir has reiterated that a fair and impartial trial of the high profile Kashmir sex scandal case was never possible in Srinagar as the atmosphere in the summer capital had turned hostile.

The JBA president emphasised that ''all the lawyers associated with JBA will not attend the court proceedings till our demand to transfer the sex scandal case in Jammu for fair trial was accepted.

''The rule of law has been hijacked in court premises and the defence counsels are not safe in the summer capital. The local people are mounting pressure on the defence counsel. In such a circumstance, no advocate can cross-examine the witnesses in the court,'' Mr Wazir said.

The Kashmir Bar Association (KBA), a party to the sex scandal, had declared that no lawyer associated with KBA would be allowed to appear in the court on behalf of those arrested or chargesheeted in connection with the scandal.

UNI HGV PK HT1415