Allowing lawyers to attend office in Delhi through e-passes: Haryana, UP tell Delhi HC

The governments of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have submitted before the Delhi High Court that they are allowing the advocates and other staff, who want to visit Delhi for court and legal work, by way of e-passes.

Haryana government submitted that it has agreed to issue weekly e-passes to all advocates.

Uttar Pradesh government, in its affidavit filed on Sunday, said that lawyers residing in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad who want to travel to Delhi to attend their private offices can apply to the Nodal Officer of respective districts for e-pass for issuance of the same.

The Bar Council of Delhi had approached the High Court raising concern over the restrictions imposed by the neighbouring states to advocates residing there over commute to their private offices in Delhi.

Additional Solicitor General Mnder Acharya, during the last hearing on the matter, had assured the court that an endeavour would be made to resolve the grievances raised in the petition to permit lawyers to cross the border to attend their private offices in Delhi.

In the petition, BCD Chairman KC Mittal raised the issues of advocates, who are residing in the neighbouring towns of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, practicing in Delhi and wanted to attend their offices to prepare for their cases.

Mittal, during the last hearing, submitted that in view of guideline 7(F) issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on May 1, 2020, operation of private offices has been permitted.

"As such lawyers within Delhi and outside Delhi are entitled to come to their office and attend to their work. The lawyers residing in NCR aren't being allowed to cross the border by Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, though they are bound by the guidelines issued by MHA dated May 1, 2020, and the movement of lawyers cannot be restricted in violation of Article 19(1)(d)," he said.

The petition said that Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments are not permitting advocates to cross the borders to reach their offices and cited Union of India statement according to which Chartered Accountants and Advocates cannot be prevented from attending their offices.

As per the revised guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs for the opening of private offices, advocates cannot be prevented from coming to their respective offices, the plea said.

It said that advocates residing in different towns of UP and Haryana are entitled to enter Delhi and open their offices and respective governments, their officials and agents cannot prevent the advocates from crossing the border from their place of residence to attend their offices.

( With inputs from ANI )