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Synopsis

The Allahabad High Court was recently apprised of a dedicated cell constituted by the Commissioner of Police, Lucknow for dealing with FIRs/complaints /investigations against lawyers who indulge in land grabbing and other illegal/criminal activities.

The Additional Government Advocate, on January 2, 2024, submitted before a division bench comprising Justices Rajan Roy and Narendra Kumar Johari that constitution of the said cell shall be publicized in newspapers and other permissible means including media so that the public comes to know about the same.

The decision was taken by the Commissioner to curb at the earliest land grabbing and other illegal / criminal activities at the hands of people claiming themselves to be lawyers.

This would be possible only when requisite information is received from the public in this regard, the AGA submitted.

The division bench was dealing with a bunch of petitions pertaining to the issue of illegal land grabbing by alleged lawyers in Lucknow district.

On December 2, 2023, the division bench was informed by Police Commissioner of Lucknow, S.B. Shiradkar, who was present in person, that he had constituted a Special Cell under one Joint Commissioner of Police, (Law and Order), a very senior IPS Officer to look into the complaints regarding alleged lawyers taking over property of common persons and to take immediate action on receiving any such complaints in the future also.

He had also assured the court of full co-operation of the police authorities with regard to the court’s endeavours to uproot all unlawful elements, who were working as alleged advocates in Lucknow.

He had then prayed for some time to file his affidavit regarding action taken in each of the matters that were listed before the court pertaining to the issue.

The court had allowed him the time to filed a personal affidavit.

On January 2, the AGA informed the court that in compliance of the court’s orders, though two affidavits had been filed, certain more affidavits were under process.

The division bench ordered that in the meantime, court’s order dated December 2, 2023 shall be complied by the concerned unless already complied.

Court also allowed the impleadment of the Bar Council of India in the matter.

However, considering that important issues were involved in the matter at hand such as persons posing themselves to be lawyers or who were actually Lawyers, were misusing their position to grab or attempt to grab properties, as also, were creating hindrances in the functioning of District Court at Lucknow etc, the division bench placed the matter before the Chief Justice for nominating a Bench for hearing all these matters regularly.

It had come to the notice of the division bench that some petitions had not been listed for hearing since long.

The division bench referred the matter to the Chief Justice also to ensure that no question of lack of jurisdiction arise in the future as some of the petitions were in public interest whereas others were registered as being of a civil nature or ciminal.

“Let the office do the needful. The matter shall now be placed before the Bench as nominated by Hon'ble the Chief Justice at the earliest say, if possible, on 17.01.2024, amongst first five cases of the day,” the division bench ordered.

Case Title: Anil Kumar Khanna vs. State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy Home Lko. And Others, connected matters