Delhi HC Seeks Update from AAP Government on Advocates Protection Bill Progress

Delhi HC advocates protection bill: The AAP government has been asked by the Delhi High Court to give an update on the Advocates Protection Bill, which is meant to protect lawyers and make the workplace safer.

The hearing date was moved from February 5, 2025, to December 16, 2024, by Justice Sanjeev Narula. The progress report had to be turned in within two weeks.

In light of the attempted murder of a lawyer in April, advocates Deepa Joseph and Alpha Phiris Dayal were pleading with the High Court to make a law to protect advocates.

Standing counsel for the Delhi government Santosh Kumar Tripathi said he would be filing the most up-to-date progress report on the bill so far.

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The court set an earlier date to hear the petitioners' plea, which was related to an attack on a group of lawyers on October 21 and for which a FIR was made at the Mehrauli Police Station. The petitioners were represented by lawyer Robin Raju.

"The recent acts of violence against lawyers show the dire need for enactment of the Advocates Protection Act in Delhi," it said.

The petition asked the court to step in right away because the final draft bill of the Advocates Protection Act, which was made by the Delhi government's Law Department, hadn't been looked at or approved by the Delhi Law Minister since September 13.

The High Court asked the Central and Delhi governments to respond to the petition on April 12. It also asked for an update from the Bar Council of Delhi and the coordination committee of all District Bar Associations. These groups said they were already working on the Advocates Protection Bill and meeting with government officials to talk about it.

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On April 1, two people on motorcycles killed 53-year-old lawyer Virender Kumar Narwal in southwest Delhi's Dwarka area.

In their plea, the petitions said that there had been a "alarming rise" in violence inside city courts and that it was "high time" for a decision to be made to pass a law to protect lawyers and calm people down.

The people who signed the petition said that seeing pictures and videos of the "cold-blooded murder of an influential and senior member of the Bar" made them even more worried about their safety. They also said that if this bill wasn't passed in Delhi, criminals would have even more courage to attack lawyers.

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There was fear among the lawyers, and it went against Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India, which says that everyone has the right to practice any trade. It also went against Article 21 of the Constitution, which says that life and personal liberty are protected.

The plea showed that a rule in Rajasthan said the police would protect any lawyer who was being attacked or threatened with criminal force or threats, and it also said what the offender would be punished for.

"Only an Act that guarantees protection to the fraternity of lawyers practising in Delhi will help remove the sense of fear embedded in the minds, particularly among young first-generation lawyers like the petitioners herein due to the repeated acts of firing inside court premises and altercations to state the least," the plea stated.

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