Delhi lawyers suspend strike after goverment decides to pause notification on police station depositions

Lawyers of Delhi's trial courts have decided to suspend their strike after Delhi Police said that its notification designating police stations as deposition spots will be implemented only after consultation with stakeholders.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also said that he will hear lawyers' concerns against the government's decision.

The coordination committee for the All District Courts Bar Association of Delhi issued a notice on Thursday, stating that the strike will remain suspended till discussions with Shah.

Notably, a lawyer named Ravinder Sharma died of a heart attack today while agitating against the notification.

Lawyers across Delhi’s district courts had been on strike since August 22. They have been protesting against the August 13 Delhi Police notification had designated all police stations in the National Capital Territory as “places for the purpose of presenting evidence and deposing before courts through video conferencing by police personnel only.”

Advocates said the notification undermines the right to a fair trial.

The Coordination Committee of All District Courts Bar Associations wrote to the Delhi Chief Minister on August 18 and to the Lieutenant Governor on August 20, objecting to the notification. In its representation, the Committee argued that allowing police officers to depose from within their own stations would compromise the neutrality of testimony.

“From a procedural standpoint, when an officer deposes from within his own police station, there can be no assurance that he is not aided by undisclosed notes, documents, or external inputs. Such a setting inherently lacks neutrality and renders the deposition susceptible to manipulation,” the committee said.

The Bar Council of India also criticised the notification in a letter to the Lieutenant Governor, calling it a unilateral executive decision that ignored judicial safeguards.

The lawyers' protest also gained support from the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).

A Public Interest Litigation was also filed before the Delhi High Court challenging the notification.

The plea, filed by Advocate Kapil Madan, argued that the notification violated the right to fair trial under Article 21 and equality under Article 14 of the Constitution by giving police witnesses preferential treatment.