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The Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad (ABAP) (English: All India Lawyers' Council) is a right-wing Indian organisation of lawyers associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. It is often referred to in the media as the "RSS lawyers' wing."[1] It aims to work for a judicial system that is "in harmony with the genius of the nation and consonance with the Bharatiya traditions,” as stated in the organization’s mission.
| Abbreviation | ABAP |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1992 |
| Founder | Dattopant Thengadi |
| Type | Lawyers organisation |
| Headquarters | New Delhi, India |
Region served | India |
Parent organisation | Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh |
| Affiliations | Sangh Parivar |
| Website | www |
It was founded in 1992 by Dattopant Thengadi, a Hindu nationalist thinker, social reformer, and founder of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, one of India’s largest trade unions.
History
editThe ABAP has its genesis in the national emergency of 1975–77, which suspended civil rights and allowed censorship of the press and mass incarceration of political and social activists. During this time, various regional legal organizations were formed, including the Nationalist Lawyer's Forum in West Bengal in 1977.
Later, in Maharashtra, the Junior Lawyers Forum was formed in Nagpur in the 1980s. In Kerala, the Bharatiya Abhivasaka Parishad was formed in 1987 at Ernakulam. In the state of Uttar Pradesh, Adhivakta Parishad Uttar Pradesh was formed in 1992.
On September 7, 1992, the concept of the Akhil Bhartiya Adhivakta Parishad was realized through the collaborative endeavors of Dattopant Thengadi and other legal professionals. This organization was envisioned as a unifying body for various regional lawyers' associations that shared similar objectives and eventually became associated with the ABAP. Subsequently, state chapters of the Adhivakta Parishad were established in additional regions.
The Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad was formally constituted in Delhi on 21 and 22 April 2001 and was registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 at the office of the Delhi Registrar of Societies on 4 May 1992.
Organizational structure
editThe founding members of the ABAP included H. R. Khanna, E. Venkat Ramaiya, Rama Jois, Jitender Veer Gupta, Guman Mal Lodha, U. R. Lalit, and Ram Jethmalani.[2]
There is a National Executive of the Parishad consisting of the President, vice-president, General Secretary, Organising Secretary, Treasurer, Secretaries, Zonal Secretaries and Members. Further, there is a National Council of the Adhivakta Parishad which is the highest policy and decision-making body in all matters about the Constitution, Organisation, finance and other activities of the Parishad. All the members of the National Executive and 7 members from each State Level Constituent Organisation, affiliated with the Parishad, constitute the National Council. [citation needed]
Every State Level Constituent Organisation, affiliated with the Parishad, has its State Executive body. District committees are formed under the guidance and approval of the State Executive Committee. For a large district, Sub-Divisional Committee may be formed under the guidance and approval of the District and State Committees. Individual Court Units are formed and function under the guidance and approval of the District and State Committees. These Court Units are the micro-level units of the Parishad. Further, to make the organisation gender inclusive and truly representational, under the conference of women Advocates in Indore, the Adhivakta Parishad resolved that in each functional unit one vice president, one joint secretary and two executive members shall be women. This is apart from women occupying the posts of President and General secretary in some states and local units. Every three years a National Conference is held where thousands of advocates from all over the country participate. The National Council meets every two years, whereas the National Executive, wherein the General secretaries of all the state units are special invitees, meets every year. [citation needed]
Activities
editNyaya Kendra
editOne of the flagship projects of the ABAP, the Nyaya Kendras are legal aid centers established to make justice accessible to the socially and economically excluded section of society.
Legal Awareness Camp
editABAP aims to organize Legal Awareness Camps at the doorstep of the targeted people/community in order to make them aware of their individual rights or collective rights as the citizens of the country.
Seminar/Symposium/Workshop
editThe ABAP regularly organizes National/State/District/Sub-Division/Court Level Seminars, Symposiums and Workshop.
Study Circle
editThe Court units organize a periodical study circle in their respective units under the guidance of Senior Advocates and with the co-operation of the Junior Advocates on subject matters like a particular Statute/Act/Law, its application and operation in society, on new Bills, on an amendment to an Act, or on any other issue as required.
Public Interest Litigation
editThe ABAP has utilized the tool of PIL from time to time to make interventions and espouse cause on behalf of the vulnerable sections of the society like the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, the farmers, the informal sector workers, women etc. Noticeably, the Parishad does not file cases on these issues in its name. The local grass-root activists and organisations are represented, assisted and guided by the advocates from Parishad.
Study and Research Group
editSimilar to a study circle at the court units, a study and research group is formed and operates at every State and the National level to work on the Bills, new/amended Acts, Laws and Rules.
The ABAP publishes a quarterly bilingual magazine called 'Nyaya Pravah'.
Prominent members
edit- N. Santosh Hegde, former judge of the Supreme Court and former Lokayukta of Karnataka.[1]
- Adarsh Kumar Goel, appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of India in 2014, served as the General Secretary of the Adhivakta Parishad.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b ‘Santosh Hegde headed lawyers' wing of RSS', The Hindu, 11 September 2011.
- ^ Chitkara, M. G. (1 January 2004), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh: National Upsurge, APH Publishing, pp. 298–, ISBN 978-81-7648-465-7
- ^ "The Tree, The Branches". Outlook. 27 April 1998. Retrieved 12 October 2014.