The standoff between the police and lawyers—which began following an altercation of group of lawyers with few persons at the Shahdara police station—has now come to an end. The lawyers have withdrawn their strike, which had brought work in the capital’s courts to a standstill. This decision follows the issuance of transfer orders for Shahdara Station House Officer (SHO) Arun Kumar and the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in charge of the Gandhi Nagar subdivision, Manasvi Vashistha.
The lawyers had been demanding legal action against these officers, as well as their suspension. They had also accused ACP Manasvi Vashistha of intimidating them by brandishing a revolver. To resolve the situation, the Delhi Police headquarters issued transfer orders for both ACP Manasvi Vashistha and Inspector Arun Kumar on Wednesday.
According to an order issued by the Delhi Police headquarters, ACP Manasvi Vashistha, SDPO Gandhi Nagar has been transferred to the Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC), while SHO Arun Kumar of the Shahdara police station has been reassigned to the Security Unit.
During the altercation at the Shahdara police station, a lawyer named Lalit Bansal sustained an injury to his head; however, the opposing side claimed that the injury occurred while they were acting in self-defense. Lawyers staged a two-day protest, alleging that certain police officers had threatened lawyers who had gone to the police station to demand action regarding an assault on a fellow advocate.
The decision to call off the strike was reached following a meeting between police representatives, officials from the Bar Council of Delhi, and the presidents and secretaries of the district court bar associations. In a resolution passed on Wednesday, the coordination committee of all district court bar associations in Delhi announced the end of their protest. This decision was taken “in light of the issuance of transfer/posting orders and the progress made following the consensus reached during the meeting.”
However, the committee clarified that the transfer of these two officers does not “mark the end of the matter.” The committee stated that the investigation into the complaints filed by members of the Shahdara Bar Association against the police officers must be completed within two months. Furthermore, a timeline was also established for taking action regarding the two FIRs related to this dispute.
