‘Take steps to enact Advocates Protection Bill expeditiously’

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has pressed the city government to accelerate the process of enacting the long-pending Advocates Protection Bill, directing it to share

the latest draft with the petitioners and file a fresh status report by May 28.

The directions came from Justice Sachin Datta during a recent hearing on a petition filed by advocates Deepa Joseph and Alpha Phiris Dayal, who had sought legal safeguards for lawyers practicing in the national capital. Their plea also asked for access to the draft of the Advocates Protection Bill, 2024, which the government had confirmed was already prepared.

Though the Delhi government informed the court in a status report filed on September 9 last year that the Law Department had finalised the draft, it had yet to present it to the Council of

Ministers for approval. Additionally, the draft was not shared with the petitioners despite repeated requests.

Allowing the application, Justice Datta ordered the Delhi government to provide a copy of the draft Bill to the applicants. The court also reiterated the need for the government to act “expeditiously” in taking further steps toward its enactment.

The matter has been under judicial scrutiny since May 2023, when the High Court first asked the government to respond to a draft prepared by the coordination committee of all district court bar associations. That initial draft had been sent to both the Delhi Law minister and the Chief Minister. It outlined crucial protections for lawyers, including police security, safeguards against arbitrary arrests, compensation mechanisms, and the establishment of grievance redressal bodies.

With Rajasthan being the only state to have enacted such legislation so far, legal professionals across Delhi hope the Capital will follow suit soon. All eyes are now on the Council of Ministers and the Lieutenant Governor, whose nod will be crucial for the Bill’s final passage.