A half-day work abstention by bench assistants of Chittagong courts protesting the alleged assault on a colleague by some lawyers halted judicial activities for nearly four hours in the port city yesterday.
The protesters locked the doors of the court rooms, preventing scheduled hearings from taking place and causing inconvenience to justice seekers, especially those from remote areas, sources said.
“Several lawyers locked into an altercation with Md Kefayetullah, a bench assistant of the Seventh Chittagong Metropolitan Session Judge Court, at the Chittagong District Bar Association’s office and physically assaulted him on Tuesday evening over a trifling matter,” claimed Omar Fuad, bench assistant of Chittagong Metropolitan Session Judge Court.
The bench assistants started their protest at 9am by locking the entries to 20 courts, including the Metropolitan Session Judge and Chief Metropolitan Magistrate courts.
The protesters, however, unlocked the court rooms in the afternoon following discussions with judges and lawyers. But judicial proceedings could not resume for the day in most of the courts, the sources added.
The bench assistances ended their protest and unlocked the court rooms around 1pm after a meeting with Metropolitan Session Judge SM Mojibur Rahman and leaders of the bar association.
“We withdrew the demonstration responding to the judge, but our movement will continue,” said Omar Fuad.
Meanwhile, lawyers demanding a stop to alleged irregularities by bench assistants also brought out a procession at the court premises around noon yesterday.
Abdur Rashid, general secretary of the bar association, said the bench assistants staged the protest without any prior notice and caused sufferings to justice seekers.
“If they have any objection, they could lodge a complaint,” Rashid said, adding that both sides came to an agreement through the intervention of Mojibur Rahman.
