A "word against yours" battle is unfolding in Meghalaya after the bar associations of the Meghalaya High Court and Shillong removed top law officer Amit Kumar from their rolls. The action follows a statement by the senior lawyer, who maintains it's his duty to raise the issue. Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone, Kumar says he made the statement before the Meghalaya High Court bench of Chief Justice Revati Mohit Dere and Justice W Diengdoh on August 3. Kumar said on July 28, a female intern was molested by a "fairly senior member of the bar" and he made a statement about it before the high court bench. According to Kumar, he told the bench, "The state is doing everything. But at the same time, I must confess or tell the court that I, being a member of the Bar, failed, and the Bar Association has also failed to protect the young intern.” On the other hand, the bar associations on August 5 "unanimously" wrote, "Both the High Court of Meghalaya Bar Association and Shillong Bar Association strongly condemn the action of Shri. Amit Kumar, Advocate General in making generalized sweeping statement that the Bar Associations have failed to protect its women members and to provide a safe environment, casting serious aspersion on the Bar and making false statements in court." Kumar, however, clarifies his stand and says, "Being a senior advocate. It's my duty to do that. I'm not having that ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude. I said that Bar is not doing its duty. So, this infuriated them; this angered them." The high court had taken cognisance of the incident after the bar associations wrote a letter to the Chief Justice. 'Can't remove me as AG' Kumar says the associations could remove him from the bar, but "they can’t remove me from the position of Advocate General" because they have no power under the law. “I am the Advocate General by virtue of the fact that the government has chosen me to be. It's basically the prerogative of the Chief Minister to make me or remove me as Advocate General," Kumar says, adding he was not given any notice and was not heard before his name was removed from the rolls. Kumar also claims that the associations put a poster saying, "Go back" as if he was "not a citizen of this country" and has "come from England". "See, go back to which place? So therefore I go back to Bihar, go back to Hyderabad. Go back to Delhi. Please ask this: Where should I go back? They have expelled me, removed me, but why are they saying go back? Amit Kumar should go back where? You have a right to remove me. It's your association.I have a fundamental right to practice all over the country; it is not justified for them to say that I can't practice. I will practice now," he adds. For now, the Kumar continues to carry out his duties as the AG. "Resolved that the name of Amit Kumar be and is hereby removed from the roll of advocates of both the High Court of Meghalaya Bar Association and the Shillong Bar Association and he shall no longer be a member of the said Associations, and it hereby resolved that all members of both the bar associations hence forth do not recognize Shri Amit Kumar as Advocate General for the state of Meghalaya," the High Court of Meghalaya Bar Association resolution added. The resolution also stated that a formal letter would be sent to the Chief Minister of Meghalaya to “demand” the official removal of Kumar from the position of Advocate General. SCBA view On the issue, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) issued a statement on August 14 and said that the statement made by the Advocate General, which led to his expulsion from the Bar Association, was “in the context of a matter which arises from serious allegations made by a woman law intern against a senior member of the Bar. The statement was an acknowledgement of the need to ensure safe and dignified spaces for women lawyers and interns and was made during proceedings before the Hon'ble High Court of Meghalaya, which was dealing with the issue.” According to the SCBA, as the case was already before the court, a resolution seeking action against Kumar for submissions made during court proceedings was “unwarranted” and might further “escalate” the controversy. As a result, the SCBA urged the bar associations to reconsider the joint resolution and to work towards a mechanism through which women advocates and law interns can raise their grievances. Meghalaya High Court Bar Association Secretary Kishore Gautam said that there would be an "official press release" on the issue on August 19.
