All advocates in Jharkhand refrained from any judicial work and observed a “pen down strike” on Tuesday in protest against the alleged assault of an advocate by a judicial officer in Daltonganj civil court on February 15.

The special fact finding committee of the Jharkhand State Bar Council on Tuesday conducted its inquiry into the incident. Jharkhand State Bar Council members A.K. Rashidi, Rinku Bhakat, Hemant Kumar Shikarwar and Kundan Prakashan went to Daltonganj, the Palamau district headquarters, and interviewed 25 advocates including the victim, Sachidanand Tiwary.

Tiwary also happens to be president of the Daltonganj Bar Association.

Council member Shikarwar said the committee spoke to different sets of advocates and also met the district judge of Daltonganj to discuss the matter. The committee has made detailed observations and recorded the statements of the advocates, Shikarwar said.

Advocate Kundan Prakashan, another member of the fact-finding committee, said that the report of the committee will be put up before the council which will take its decision in the matter. The report is expected to be tabled within a week’s time, Prakashan added.

The council in an emergency meeting held in its headquarters in the capital on Monday had called for a one-day pen-down strike on Tuesday across the state. As many as 30,000 advocates abstained from their work following the directives of the council.

The matter pertains to the alleged assault of advocate Sachidanand Tiwary by a Dalltonganj judge. The incident occurred on February 15 on the court premises at Daltonganj when Tiwary was allegedly assaulted by the judge and the judge’s bodyguard.

Immediate protests were staged by the Daltonganj Bar Association, which went on strike on February 16. The Ranchi District Bar Association went on a one-day strike in support of the Daltonganj Bar Association on Monday.