Advocate Threatened, Forced To Withdraw Vakalatnama In Courtroom? Allahabad HC Directs District Judge To Verify Allegations

Expressing serious concerns over the allegations that an advocate was ill-treated and threatened inside a courtroom, forcing him to withdraw his Vakalatnama, the Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) sought a report from the District & Sessions Judge, Lucknow verifying allegations. A bench of Justice Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi observed that if such allegations are accepted as correct on their face value, they cause an "interruption in the dispensation of justice" and give a "bad name to the justice delivery system". The observation came while the Bench was hearing a Transfer Application (Civil) filed by one Devi Prasad and others under Section 24 CPC. The applicants had approached the High Court praying to transfer their pending appeal [Sunder Devi vs U.P. Shia Central Waqf Board and another filed under Order 43 Rule 1 CPC] from the Court of the Additional District Judge-7, Lucknow, to any other competent court in a nearby district. Arguing for the applicants, Advocate Suresh Chandra Shukla submitted that the environment in the lower court had become hostile. He referred to an alleged incident of August 26, 2025, when the appeal was listed and the applicant's lawyer, KK Dwivedi, was illtreated by the private opposite parties and was even threatened to withdraw his Vakalatnama from the pending appeal, which he later did. Furthermore, the applicants alleged that another advocate from the respondent's side, along with his associates, attacked applicant no. 1 (Devi Prasad) and threatened him not to pursue the case. It was also informed to the bench that the applicant had already reported the matter to the District & Sessions Judge, Lucknow, the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh and the concerned Police Station through complaints sent via Registered Post. Taking a grim view of the submissions, Justice Rizvi directed Additional Chief Standing Counsel Badrish Kumar Tripathi to communicate the order to the District & Sessions Judge, Lucknow. The High Court has also directed the District Judge to look into the matter and obtain a report from the concerned Court to ascertain the correctness of the allegations made in the transfer application. "It is expected that the learned District & Sessions Judge, Lucknow shall communicate its opinion and the report of action, if any, to this Court by the next date fixed in the matter", the bench further directed. The matter has been posted as fresh on November 28, 2025.

Advocate Threatened, Forced To Withdraw Vakalatnama In Courtroom? Allahabad HC Directs District Judge To Verify Allegations

Sparsh Upadhyay

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