Recently, the Allahabad High Court instructed the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh to provide guidelines to advocates regarding their attire outside the court premises.

A bench comprising Justice Sangeeta Chandra and Justice NK Johari was presiding over a Criminal Writ Petition that sought a fair investigation into a criminal case.

The representative for the petitioner conveyed that the petitioner is an active advocate practicing in the Civil Court in Lucknow. Opposite parties numbered 5 to 20 are also advocates within the Civil Court. The petitioner alleged that they assaulted them within the premises of the Civil Court. Subsequently, the petitioner filed an FIR, registered as Case Crime No. 0284 of 2023 on September 22, 2023, citing Sections 323, 504, 506, 392 of the Indian Penal Code in relation to the incident that occurred on September 21, 2023.

It was mentioned that the petitioner had taken steps to request the District Judge, Lucknow, for the preservation of the C.C.T.V. footage from the corridor of the multistorey Civil Court Building, Third Floor, specifically before the Court of Judicial Magistrate-III. A copy of the application submitted to the District Judge has been included as Annexure-04 to the writ petition on page 44. Additionally, the petitioner has faced continuous threats from the private respondents, identified as anti-social elements, some of whom have a documented history with the police. Details of criminal cases against Dilip Singh S/o Kunwar Bahadur Singh and other members of his gang have been outlined in Annexure-05 to the writ petition and also in paragraph-21 of the writ petition.

The petitioner submitted an application on September 29, 2023, to the Chief Justice of India regarding this matter. A copy of the application has been attached as Annexure-05 to the writ petition.

The court issued a directive stating that the Additional Government Advocate (A.G.A.) representing the State Respondents should notify the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police in the relevant area about the filing of the writ petition. Furthermore, the A.G.A. was instructed to seek instructions regarding the actions taken in response to the FIR lodged by the petitioner.

Additionally, the Senior Registrar of this High Court has been directed to dispatch a copy of this writ petition to the District Judge, Lucknow. The District Judge is to provide comments on the actions taken in response to the petitioner's letter dated September 25, 2023, requesting the preservation of the C.C.T.V. footage from the third-floor corridor in front of the Court of Judicial Magistrate-III.

Before concluding the order, the court instructed Sri Subhash Chandra Pandey, the advocate representing the opposite party no.4, to communicate with the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh. This communication should inform the Bar Council about multiple cases being filed, alleging that advocates in uniform are intervening in private property disputes and assisting the land mafia in wrongfully acquiring citizens' property. These advocates reportedly appear at the scene in their uniforms. The court recommended that the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh issue guidelines advising advocates to refrain from wearing uniforms when outside the court premises.

Case: Subhanshu Singh Vs. State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Civil Sectt. Lko. And Others,  CRIMINAL MISC. WRIT PETITION No. - 8629 of
2023.