Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Telangana Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Tuesday skipped the oath-taking ceremony of the recently elected office bearers of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association, media reports said.

According to the Times of India, Shukla and Bhansali were scheduled to attend the event as the chief guest and special guest, respectively. It is not known why the dignitaries did not attend the event.

The report also said that the chief returning officer (CRO) and members of the election committee also boycotted the ceremony, stating that their presence would be “neither proper nor desirable in the prevailing circumstances."

The development comes days after lawyers vandalised Justice Ajay Bhanot's courtroom over alleged ill-treatment of an advocate.

The newly elected bar body led by President CP Upadhyay and General Secretary Santosh Kumar Mishra on October 27 had issued a statement seeking action against Justice Bhanot and warned to boycott his court.

A day after the statement was issued, lawyers broke furniture inside Justice Bhanot's courtroom and assaulted government counsel and court staff. After the protests continued for few days, the High Court through judicial orders had to urge the Bar Association to take appropriate steps to maintain the dignity of the High Court.

Justice Bhanot meanwhile denied the allegations against him. A bench of Justice Bhanot and Divesh Chandra Samant said that the Bar Association had made "false imputations" regarding the incident and used provocative language in their communication to the Chief Justice.

The Court also recommended criminal action against the lawyers responsible for the courtroom violence and initiated contempt proceedings against them.