The simmering standoff between Delhi’s trial court lawyers and the police has reached a flashpoint. Despite the Bar Council of India’s (BCI) plea for dialogue, the city’s lawyers have declared they will begin an indefinite strike starting September 8, pressing their demand that police personnel must appear physically in court for deposition.
The Co-ordination Committee of All District Courts Bar Associations made its position clear in a late-night statement: the agitation will not be withdrawn, and in fact, it will intensify. “If our genuine demand that police officials must appear physically before the court for deposition and evidence is not met, we will continue with indefinite abstention from work, and in a more forceful manner,” the group declared.
The BCI had earlier urged the lawyers to reconsider, offering a joint meeting with the Bar Council of Delhi on September 8. It pointed to the Delhi Police Commissioner’s fresh notification, issued on September 4, clarifying that only formal police witnesses may testify via video conferencing, while material witnesses should appear in person. The BCI warned that repeated strikes were piling hardship on litigants, under-trials, victims, and advocates who wished to continue their practice.
The conflict stems from a controversial notification dated August 13, when the Delhi Police designated all police stations in the capital as “video-conferencing sites” for police testimony. Outraged lawyers launched a week-long work boycott in August, which ended only after the notification was rolled back and Home Minister Amit Shah promised dialogue.
But the September 4 circular rekindled the battle, permitting video testimony from formal police witnesses and allowing physical presence only if the court deemed it necessary. For Delhi’s lawyers, that concession fell short. The strike begins Monday, and this time, they say, they’re not backing down.
