Advocates have no right to strike or boycott courts, and courts need not adjourn matters for such calls.

Advocates, as officers of the court, are bound to aid the administration of justice and have no right to strike or call for boycott of courts. Such abstention disrupts court functioning, prejudices litigants, and is inconsistent with professional duty. Courts are not required to adjourn matters because of a strike call, and a lawyer who has accepted a brief must appear unless duly discharged. Participation in boycott calls or obstruction of other advocates may attract contempt and professional consequences. Bar Councils and Bar Associations cannot treat strike calls as lawful protest; any protest must be non-disruptive. Only in the rarest of rare cases affecting the dignity, integrity, or independence of the Bar or Bench may a brief abstention be overlooked, subject to the court's decision.

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Issues: Whether advocates have any right to go on strike or call for boycott of courts, whether courts must adjourn matters because of such calls, and what consequences follow if an advocate abstains from court work despite holding a vakalat.

Analysis: The Court held that advocates are officers of the court and are bound to aid the administration of justice. It reaffirmed that strike or boycott by lawyers interrupts court functioning, prejudices litigants, and is inconsistent with professional duty. The Court approved earlier decisions holding that courts are not obliged to adjourn matters because of a strike call, that a lawyer who has accepted a brief must appear unless duly discharged, and that lawyers who obstruct others from appearing or participate in boycott calls may expose themselves to contempt and professional consequences. The Court also stated that the Bar Councils and Bar Associations cannot treat strike calls as lawful modes of protest and that any protest must be through non-disruptive means. Only in the rarest of rare cases involving the dignity, integrity, or independence of the Bar or the Bench may a brief abstention of not more than one day be overlooked, and even then the matter is for the court to decide.

Conclusion: Advocates have no right to strike or boycott courts, courts need not adjourn matters on that ground, and an advocate who stays away from court pursuant to such a call may be liable to consequences including costs and disciplinary action.

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