HC
Meghalaya High Court Issues Contempt Notices Over Lawyers’ Statewide Abstention
Nyaya Prep • Published • Updated • 3 min read
The Meghalaya High Court initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against office-bearers of two bar associations over a call to abstain from court work until the State Advocate General was removed.
Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice H.S.
Background and legal issue
The Meghalaya High Court Bar Association and Shillong Bar Association had urged lawyers to stop appearing from October 1. The Court recorded that the boycott disrupted judicial functioning and affected litigants across the State.
Legal reasoning and context
Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice H.S. Thangkhiew described the collective abstention as contrary to settled law prohibiting lawyers’ strikes. The Bench also noted that one district bar association had declined to participate.
Legal effect and next step
Contempt notices have been issued; liability has not yet been finally determined. The proceedings place professional protest tactics under judicial scrutiny because litigants’ access to courts cannot be suspended by bar resolutions.
Act: Contempt of Courts Act, 1971
Publisher report: Read original report
Nyaya Prep report prepared on 10 October 2026. Party allegations are attributed as such; no unpublished finding is assumed.
- Legal Profession and Contempt
- 10 October 2026