Senior Advocate Azeem Khan reads out a resolution at the annual convention of All India Practicing Lawyers Council at India International Centre, New Delhi on March 11, 2023.
The All India Practicing Lawyers’ Council (AIPLC) was kickstarted on February 2020 with an inauguration at the hands of Justice Ravindran of the Allahabad High Court. The main motive of setting up the Council was to uphold Constitutional rights of citizens and protect civil liberties.
The Council’s key focus area includes working towards protection of Constitutional rights of citizens. This year as many as eighty delegates took part in the convention, which is second such annual gathering since the Councils’ inception three years ago.
At the convention, almost all the delegates read out from a resolution given to them by the Council. Apart from eighty delegates which were mostly senior advocates from across the country, more than twenty retired prominent justices also took part in the convention.
In January 2022, the All India Practicing Lawyers Council sent a fact finding team to Malegaon. The lawyers’ team conducted research on the 12 November 2021 stone pelting incident in which some policemen were injured. The team also gathered facts on the subsequent arrests made by the police in the stone throwing incident, Azeem Khan, Senior Advocate
Advocate Azeem Khan represented District and Additional Sessions Court Malegaon at the forum. He was given a resolution to read out from it. Advocate Khan said in the resolution he read out to the audience the draconian provisions in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act were highlighted.
He also said the resolution underlined the stringent bail conditions imposed on an accused facing charges under the UAPA. Those facing charges under such laws languish in jail for months and in some cases for years without enjoying bail. These draconian laws deprive an individual of their liberty and rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India, Adv Khan said.
At this year’s convention, delegates spoke through resolution about hate speeches, random arrests made by the law enforcement agencies, mob lynching etc, Adv Khan said. He added in this year’s souvenir, the AIPLC has dedicated a chapter on 12 November 2021 stone throwing incident in which some policemen were injured and the subsequent arrests made by the police in its aftermath.
