The Supreme Court on Friday said boycott of courts by advocates is "totally unacceptable" and amounts to a "closure of judicial institution".
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K.M. Joseph criticised lawyers for striking work and denying access to litigants, following the recent clash between lawyers and the Delhi Police personnel on the Tis Hazari district court premises.
When Bar Council of India chairman and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra tried to explain to the Bench that the lawyers were at the receiving end of the police onslaught, Justice Kaul said: "nobody claps with one hand, there were problems from both the sides".
Attorney General K.K. Venugopal also expressed his regrets about the November 2 clash. “It was once an honourable profession, but today we are being looked down upon,” he said.
However, Mr. Venugopal said lawyers must be given a grievance redressal forumas an antidote to their ongoing strikes.
Senior advocates Vikas Singh and K.V. Vishwanathan suggested periodic review of lawyers' roll to weed out non-practising advocates.
“Identification of black sheep is necessary,” Mr. Singh submitted.
