Bar Council of India lifts 54 lawyers’ suspensions

54 attorneys had their suspensions from the Bar Council of India removed today as a result of last year’s protests and looting on court grounds in Sambalpur. The Bar Council of India informed the Odisha State Bar Council in writing that the licences of 54 attorneys from the Sambalpur District Bar Association, whose licences had been suspended by BCI in December 2022, had been reinstated.

In the next Bar Council Election, the BCI has approved the inclusion of the names of the aforementioned attorneys on the voter list. The BCI had revoked the attorneys’ right to practise law and prohibited them from entering the courthouse to take part in any legal proceedings. The State police had also been ordered by the Supreme Court to take harsh action against the violently errant counsel. The police detained the attorneys on the orders of the Supreme Court. On December 12, 2022, the attorneys stormed the Sambalpur district court, demanding a High Court bench, and are accused of ransacking the building.