Shillong: Lawyers in Meghalaya are on the warpath. The High Court of Meghalaya Bar Association and the Shillong Bar Association jointly ordered the removal of Advocate General Amit Kumar on August 10. They gave Chief Minister Conrad Sangma exactly one week to act.
Tensions boiled over after an August 5 extraordinary general meeting. The associations officially scrubbed Kumar from their membership rolls, refusing to recognize his authority any longer. They cite a recent suo motu writ petition where Kumar allegedly trashed the reputation of local attorneys in open court. He doubled down later with what they labeled an offensive open letter.
The grievance list goes deeper than insults. These legal bodies slammed the Advocate General for packing state counsel positions with family and cronies. They also voiced fury over the state repeatedly hiring outside lawyers to handle cases in various courts and tribunals. The High Court Bar Association filed an RTI request to audit these specific appointments and the money paid out.
The Bar Council of Meghalaya waded into other controversies this week. They confirmed a formal complaint regarding a law intern who accused an advocate of sexual harassment. Council leaders promised that "necessary legal action would be taken" regarding that incident. They also hit back at rumors of internal division, declaring that reports of a rift between the two Bar associations are completely false.
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