Rajasthan: Lawyers vandalise event to inaugurate Ajmer court building; torch décor, blocked Jaipur-Ajmer road

AJMER: Angry over the absence of adequate facilities at a new court building, lawyers in Ajmer set fire to decorations put up for its inauguration Wednesday even as acting Rajasthan HC Chief Justice (CJ) Sanjeev Prakash Sharma was on the premises. They damaged decorations for the inauguration and blocked Jaipur-Ajmer Road, resulting in long traffic jams.The protesting lawyers expressed discontent over the lack of chambers and parking facilities in the new building. Only 83 chambers have been provided for over 2,000 practising lawyers and parking space is grossly inadequate, they said. Acting CJ Sharma went on to inaugurate the building.Senior advocate Chander Bhan Singh Rathore also questioned the need for a second inauguration, given the building was opened in April by the then CJ. "There are no facilities for advocates inside the new building, still the law department decided to shift courts," he said. The new building, a Rs 150-crore project started in March 2018, was scheduled for completion in Sept 2019 but faced multiple delays. Despite its state-of-the-art facilities, lack of adequate provisions for advocates has sparked discontent in the local legal fraternity.District bar association secretary Deepak Gupta said, "The project initially promised 356 chambers for advocates but now there are only 83 available. With more than 2,000 practising lawyers, how are we supposed to accommodate everyone? If we cannot find a place to sit, what is the use of coming to court?"The protest put the district administration and the police on high alert. Traffic was diverted from near the Roadways bus stand and Civil Lines following the incident.The bar association has scheduled a general house meeting Thursday to decide on further action. The presence of acting CJ Sharma during the protest called for the urgent need for dialogue on critical issues faced by the legal community.