The Amethi District Administration was recently chastised by the Allahabad High Court division bench for filing successive FIRs and demolishing the buildings owned by members of the District Bar Association without serving them with any notice. The bench, which included Justices Devendra Kumar Upadhya and Saurabh Srivastava, asserted:  "Lodging of the FIRs, undertaking demolitions and even making the complaint to the Bar Council of U.P. against the President and formal office bearers and members of the petitioner-Bar Association…in a span of less than a week shows not only undue haste on the part of the District Administration but such actions also demonstrate lack of good faith on the part of the authorities of District Administration,"

The Court also noted that restraint and adherence to the rule of law are hallmarks of efficient and judicious administration, and any deviation from such characteristics by the District Administration is bound to raise concerns. Furthermore, the Court urged the District Administration, its officers, and employees to follow the law in order to instil a sense of justice in all.

The District Bar Association, Amethi, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea through its General Secretary, Uma Shankar, alleging various allegations of accesses against members of the Bar Association by the District Administration, Administration of the Nagar Palika Parishad, and Police Administration, Gauriganj, Amethi. Furthermore, in the PIL Plea, the emphasis was placed on the local authorities' use of heavy machinery to demolish the house owned by Uma Shankar Mishra (General Secretary of the District Bar Association, Amethi).

The petitioner claimed that the filing of FIRs was nothing more than a clear manifestation of the District Administration's vengeance against petitioner-Bar Association members.

The writ petition also included allegations about the demolition of the structures/buildings of the Bar Association's members. It was also claimed that the administration was acting with vengeance against the lawyers in order to "teach a lesson" to them.

Case Title - Dist. Bar Association Amethi, Thru. Its General Secretary v. State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy. Deptt. Of Revenue Lko. And 6 Others

Case Citation: PIL No. - 828 of 2022
Link: https://elegalix.allahabadhighcourt.in/elegalix/StartWebSearch.do