The Allahabad High Court has declared that any strike or abstention from work by lawyers or their associations, in response to the death of a colleague, court officer, or their relatives, will be deemed criminal contempt.

The court clarified that such condolence meetings may only be scheduled after 3:30 pm.

The division bench comprising Justices Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Gautam Chowdhary have instructed district judges across Uttar Pradesh to report any lawyer strikes to the high court's registrar general, including the names of the bar association office-bearers involved, to initiate criminal contempt proceedings.

These directives are to be widely disseminated and displayed at all district courts in the state. The court's decision comes following a suo-motu criminal contempt case triggered by a report from Prayagraj's district judge, noting that lawyers had struck or abstained from work for 127 days between July 2023 and April 2024.

The court will revisit the matter on September 25