Lower courts in Delhi witnessed a complete lockdown yesterday, with lawyers preventing litigants from entering the premises even as the Bar Council of India announced withdrawal of strike from today.
As a standoff between the layers and the police entered its fourth day, shutdowns were reported from the Patiala House Court as well as courts in Rohini and Saket.
Mahavir Singh Sharma of All District Court Bar Associations said lawyers practicing in all the district courts of Delhi would abstain from work.
The Bar Council of India announced it will withdraw its strike and resume work from today but demanded action against police involved in a scuffle at the Tis Hazari court on November 2, while promising action against lawyers found guilty.
“We held a meeting yesterday in which we have issued notices to advocates. We are going to take action against the guilty lawyers. However, the manner in which thousands of policed gathered outside the Police Headquarters was illegal and unconstitutional,” BCI chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra told reporters here.
A minor argument between a lawyer and police over a parking spot at the Tis Hazari court complex in New Delhi on November 2 flared up leading to violence and arson, and also left a lawyer with a bullet injury.
The Delhi High Court meanwhile said its November 3 order directing no coercive steps against lawyers against whom cases were registered in the aftermath of Tis Hazari court violence is “self-explanatory and needs no clarification”.
The order was passed by a division bench, presided by Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar on a plea by the Home Ministry.
The ministry, which directly controls Delhi police, sought clarification whether protection was extended only with respect to the two FIRs registered on November 2 after the Tis Hazari violence and not the subsequent events.
Meanwhile, the day-long protest by thousands of police on Tuesday has jolted the top brass of the Delhi police, especially Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik.
The fact that Patnaik failed to stop the protest has shown that the rank and file in the police force was no longer in awe of him.
There is a growing feeling among the lower ranks of the police that the top brass including the commissioner failed to stand by them in the Tis Hazari lawyers vs police incident and the subsequent attacks on the policemen by lawyers. They say that “when our own officers, some of whom are lazy and late-comers, did not stand by us, then it shows how weak our leadership is”.
“They saw what we were going through, yet they did not come forward to help. They did not even come to the hospital to see the injured policemen. Commissioner Amulya Patnaik and his officers remained glued to their chairs. Except for a few including Additional District Commissioner Harendra Singh, the rest were not bothered,” said a woman sub-inspector at the protest site on Tuesday.
Harendra Singh was suspended on Delhi High Court orders. He is considered to be the major force behind the new police headquarters which was inaugurated by Home Minister Amit Shah on October 31. 
There seems to be considerable and widespread disenchantment with Patnaik, especially among the lower ranks of the force. The police top officials failed to immediately reach out to the frontline force who could have been mollified. Had this happened, the day-long protest outside their own headquarters would not have happened and the commissioner would not have come out as a weak guardian, the protesters said.
In a related development, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal yesterday met senior police officers including Patnaik and Joint Commissioner Rajesh Khurana.
According to sources, the meeting was a routine one, during which Tuesday’s protest was also discussed.
Calling the clash between “unfortunate”, Baijal said it was imperative to restore the trust between the police and lawyers and also to ensure that justice is done impartially.
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