New Delhi, May 12 The Coordination Committee of All District Court Bar Associations of Delhi will conduct a strike on Thursday, alleging that the most genuine and basic demands raised by the bar bodies were being persistently ignored by the Delhi High Court and its committees.
The committee’s circular dated May 11 said that in a meeting held on Sunday, the committee unanimously expressed deep concern and serious anguish over the prevailing approach being adopted by the Delhi High Court and its various committees.
It said that the high court had constituted these committees to look after the affairs of court-annexed district court bar associations in Delhi for various issues, including development and upgrade of infrastructure, enhancement of pecuniary jurisdiction, policy formulation and others, which directly affect the interest of the public, legal fraternity and the administration of justice.
“Accordingly, the coordination committee has unanimously resolved to call for complete abstention from judicial work on Thursday, 14th May, 2026,” said the circular signed by the committee’s chairman, D K Sharma and secretary general Vijay Bishnoi.
It said that the decision have been “compelled by continued arbitrary, unilateral and non-consultative manner in which crucial decisions affecting the bar and the functioning of district courts are being taken without any meaningful participation, deliberation or consultation with the court-annexed district court bar associations.”
The circular said that “the most genuine and basic demands and requirements consistently raised by the bar associations are being persistently ignored.”
“The bar is not a silent spectator to the justice delivery system. It constitutes an indispensable and equal stakeholder in the administration of justice,” the circular said, adding, “Any attempt to marginalise or ignore the bar associations in decisions having far-reaching consequences for litigants in general, advocates and district courts, strikes at the very foundation of institutional balance and democratic functioning within the judicial system.”
It claimed that repeated requests, representations, and suggestions made by the bar associations had been consistently disregarded.
“Decisions affecting lakhs of litigants and thousands of advocates are being taken unilaterally, without appreciating the practical realities faced on a daily basis in district courts across Delhi. Such an approach is wholly unacceptable and cannot be ignored.”
“This abstention from work is not merely a protest; it is a collective assertion of the dignity, independence and legitimate rights of the public in general and legal fraternity. It is a united call to ensure that the voice of the public in general, through the bar, is neither undermined nor excluded in matters intrinsically connected with the functioning of courts and the justice delivery system,” the circular said.
It requested every bar member across all district courts to stand united, rise above individual differences and participate wholeheartedly in the complete abstention from judicial work.
“The strength of the bar lies in its unity, and the time has come for the legal fraternity to collectively safeguard its institutional dignity, professional rights, and participatory role in the administration of justice,”
“United Bar. Strong Bar. Respected Bar,” the circular said.
Tarun Rana, secretary general of New Delhi Bar Association said there would be complete abstention from work in Patiala House Court on Thursday, considering the committee's resolution.
"The committee has unanimously expressed concern on inaction on the issue of enhancing pecuniary jurisdiction of the district courts of Delhi and also arbitrariness in its affairs such as development and upgradation of infrastructure, policy formulation, etc. which directly affects the interest of legal fraternity and public at large," Rana said.
