Legal services were hit on Saturday at Jamshedpur civil courts as all members of Jamshedpur Bar Association (JBA) observed a pen-down strike to protest police inaction after one of their colleagues was punched in the face by his client on Thursday.

A delegation led by JBA secretary A.K. Tiwary met East Singhbhum SSP Anoop Birtharay, demanding action against the guilty.

Tiwary said it was shocking that the accused Md Pervez was allowed to go home though his lawyer Md Qasim had filed FIR, but the senior lawyer was booked in a counter case on an FIR that was lodged by Pervez.

“The Supreme Court has said that if an aggrieved person approaches a thana with a cognisable offence committed against him, an FIR must be filed forthwith. Merits and demerits of the case can be considered during the probe, not before,” Tiwary, standing with his colleagues, told mediapersons.

He added: “We asked the SSP to ensure that when lawyers go to the police, the officer at the thana listens and tries to resolve the case under the ambit of the law.”

Senior advocate Qasim, also the JBA vice-president, had been punched by his client, builder Pervez, at the former’s seat on the ground floor of the bar building on Thursday afternoon when he refused to give his client some papers related to a pending case at the district court. Pervez apparently was so enraged that he punched his lawyer on the face. The lawyer reportedly suffered some bleeding.

The lawyers’ strike inconvenienced many ligitants, especially those who came to Jamshedpur from far-off places such as Ghurabandha and Patamda. “I didn’t know about it or else wouldn’t have come,” said Sanatan Mardi from Ghurabandha.