Farm laws detrimental to legal professionals: Delhi Bar Council

New Delhi : The Bar Council of Delhi on Wednesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repeal the farm laws.

According to the council the laws are detrimental to the interest of legal profession as they construct a bar to the jurisdiction to civil courts and entrust the same to sub-divisional magistrates and additional divisional magistrates.

Disputes which are commercial and contractual would be sent to sub-divisional magistrates and additional divisional magistrates instead of going to the courts, they said.

"It seems while framing these laws, it was not brought to your kind notice that they are more detrimental to the interest of legal professionals, across the country," BCD Chairperson, Ramesh Gupta said in a letter to the Prime Minister.

The laws will seriously jeopardise the interests of the public as getting justice at the doorstep of the bureaucracy is far from reality, he added.

The BCD sought to bring the attention to the constitutional provision for separation of judiciary from executive in a bid to maintain its independence and probity as enshrined under the Constitution.

Resorting to these laws will substantially damage the district courts and uproot the lawyers, Gupta said.

"The government surreptitiously inserted such provisions, prejudicial to lawyers and litigants, which pose a serious threat to the judicial institution as well. In fact, the strategy to hide and seek and introduce provisions to oust jurisdiction in this manner is highly inappropriate," the letter read.

"We request your good self knowing that you are a man of masses, to immediately withdraw these legislations pertaining to farmers. We further request you that after withdrawing this impugned legislation, give an audience to the leaders of the farmers to come out with an amicable solution and then may bring the legislation, which may be in the welfare and upliftment of the farmers of the country."

Farmers have been sitting on protest for the last seven days at Delhi-Haryana and Delhi-Uttar Pradesh borders. Thousands of farmers have been camping at the Singhu border, while several other groups have blocked the entry at the Delhi-Haryana border in Tikri, the Delhi-UP Ghazipur border and the Delhi-UP Chilla border.

IANS report with minor edits