Shillong, Sept 2: The Meghalaya government has blinked to end the standoff with the legal fraternity.
In a high-stakes meeting on Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong and Law Minister Lahkmen Rymbui told agitating Bar leaders that Advocate General Amit Kumar will abstain from work for two weeks.
The Bar Associations have been demanding removal of the AG after his controversial courtroom observation that the legal fraternity failed to protect law interns and women lawyers, in the backdrop of alleged molestation of a law intern by a senior advocate.
The comment triggered widespread anger, boycott and a meeting with the Chief Justice on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Tynsong and Rymbui along with Law Department officials held a closed-door meeting with Bar leaders to break the deadlock and offered the two-week abstention formula.
After the meeting, the lawyers’ delegation said they will discuss among themselves before coming out with their decisions.
The Bar will now hold internal consultations and apprise all members before announcing whether they accept the government’s proposal or continue the agitation.
