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Lawyers across the country sat on strike against a controversial Higher Education and Research Bill, on Wednesday, alleging that it would take away important academic regulatory powers. Judicial activities in the lower and higher courts were severely affected as the lawyers abstained from work to protest against the proposed legislation. Lawyers in Faizabad burnt a copy of the proposed Higher Education Bill. "We have burnt a copy of the Higher Education Bill. We demand that the Higher Education Bill should not be passed because this will be an attack on the lawyer's profession. The foreign advocate would get the allowance to practice in India and we will be forced to work under them,” said president of the bar association of Faizabad, Janardan Dubey. The lawyers would continue their strike on Thursday as well. Lawyers in Allahabad too supported the strike called by the Bar Council of India. President of Allahabad Bar Council, V. P. Shrivastava said that the Bill was a direct attack on their independence and the lawyers all over India were united in the strike. “All the advocates have agreed to the fact that this bill is a direct attack on the independence of the Indian lawyers that is why we all are supporting the strike call,” he said. Lawyers in Patna city too burnt the copy of the controversial bill and shouted slogans against the HRD Minister Kapil Sibal. President of the Lawyers Association, Yogesh Chandra said the Bill was against the federal structure of the country. “This Bill will take away the powers of deciding the legal education of the country from the Bar Council of India. All the powers like the law course, syllabus, colleges will be snatched away from an elected body and will be given to a nominated commission which is entirely anti-democratic,” Chandra said. The other bills proposed by the Centre and objected by the lawyers are the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulations of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010, and the National Law School Bill, 2011.

Lawyers strike against Higher Education Bill hits judicial work