The dispute over Meghalaya Advocate General Amit Kumar has widened into an internal rift within the High Court of Meghalaya Bar Association, with its president disowning a court boycott call and questioning the secretary’s unilateral actions on the issue.
In a letter to Bar Association Secretary Kishore Ch Gautam on October 1, President KS Kynjing expressed “serious dissatisfaction” over communications, press statements and decisions taken in the name of the association without the approval of its executive committee.
Kynjing said Gautam had written to the Supreme Court Bar Association on August 17 over the Advocate General issue without first placing the matter before the executive committee. He also objected to press releases and a press conference allegedly being conducted without prior approval.
The latest flashpoint was a joint meeting of the High Court Bar Association and Shillong Bar Association on September 30, where a decision was taken to boycott courts and tribunals across Meghalaya from October 1.
Kynjing termed the decision “highly illegal”, citing the Supreme Court’s 2003 judgment in Ex-Capt. Harish Uppal v Union of India, which held that lawyers have no right to strike or boycott courts and that bar associations cannot authorise such action.