SHILLONG : Lawyers across Meghalaya are beginning an indefinite abstention from judicial work from Tuesday, escalating their standoff with the state government over their demand for the removal of Advocate General Amit Kumar.
The High Court of Meghalaya Bar Association and Shillong Bar Association took the decision on Monday, saying the government had not responded to their demand despite earlier representations.
But, bail matters have been kept outside the abstention.
The dispute has been building since late July after a law intern allegedly accused a senior advocate of molestation. The accused was later allegedly dragged from his chamber and publicly paraded by members of the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF), prompting the Meghalaya High Court to take up the matter. During a hearing on August 3, Kumar raised concerns about the responsibility of Bar associations to ensure a safe environment for women lawyers and interns. The Bar bodies objected to his remarks, saying they cast a broad and unfair aspersion on the legal profession.
Kumar later expressed “sincere regrets”, saying his intention had been to point to institutional gaps rather than target the Bar. The associations did not accept the explanation as sufficient.
The confrontation escalated on August 5, when more than 400 advocates attended a joint extraordinary general meeting and resolved to remove Kumar from the membership rolls of the two associations. They also asked Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma to remove him as Advocate General.Kumar, however, maintained that while the Bar associations could act against his membership, they could not remove him from the post of Advocate General.
The issue then moved beyond the original remarks. The associations also raised concerns over lawyers from outside Meghalaya being engaged for government work and other matters involving the Advocate General’s office.
The Supreme Court Bar Association later urged the Meghalaya Bar bodies to withdraw their action against Kumar, arguing that disciplinary action over submissions made before a court was unwarranted. The local associations rejected the intervention and maintained their position.
The protest reached the streets on August 27, when lawyers stayed away from court proceedings and marched in Shillong. The Tura Bar Association also joined the boycott. Two days later, representatives of the Bar associations met Governor C.H. Vijayashankar and submitted a memorandum seeking Kumar’s removal.
Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, meanwhile, has publicly backed Kumar. Sangma praised the Advocate General’s work for the state and said Meghalaya was “very lucky” to have him.
With the government showing no sign of accepting the Bar’s demand, the two associations have now moved to an open-ended abstention.
The resolution means advocates will stay away from judicial work before courts and tribunals across Meghalaya from September 1, with bail matters exempted, until their demand for Kumar’s removal is addressed.
