SHILLONG: An unusual egg protest marked the lawyers’ agitation in Shillong on Tuesday, with protest messages and drawings written on eggs displayed outside the High Court Bar Association office as advocates intensified their demand for the removal of Meghalaya’s Advocate General, Amit Kumar. The protest came after talks with Law Minister Lahkmen Rymbui failed to break the deadlock, with the lawyers saying they received no concrete assurance from the Government on their demand. With the standoff unresolved, advocates have decided to continue abstaining from judicial work, maintaining pressure on the State Government to act on their demand, Advocate Kishore Chand Gautam, General Secretary of the High Court Bar Association, said.
Meanwhile, the symbolic protest saw eggs carrying handwritten messages placed on display outside the High Court Bar Association office, while banners put up on the wall carried the message, “Amit Kumar Advocate General go Back”. The unusual form of protest was part of a series of agitations undertaken by the legal fraternity for nearly a month, including rallies and effigy-burning, with the campaign receiving support from Bar Associations in various districts across Meghalaya.
Gautam said lawyers collectively decided to continue their agitation after their meeting with Law Minister Lahkmen Rymbui failed to produce any concrete outcome.
“today all the bats all the lawyers abstain from appearing in the court. this decision was collectively taken.”
He said the Law Minister had sought a meeting with the lawyers, during which they placed their grievances before him, but the Government had not provided any assurance on their demand. He said the lawyers expected Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to call them for talks, but the meeting with the Law Minister only resulted in an assurance that their grievances would be placed before the Council of Ministers.
“Law Minister Lahkmen Rymbui wanted to meet us for discussion, We met him and told him about our griviences. We expect CM to call us for talks, but after meeting him although we spoke about our griviences but nothing concrete has happen. no assurance have been given to us, only thing that law minister has said he will place our grievances before other council of Ministers. We were also told by the chief justice in the morning if possible you take a call by 2 pm decide you want to continue with your agitation or not. So after meeting law minister we took the decision that We will go ahead with the agitation. We didnot appear in the court and tomorrow and day after we will continue with our agitation. AG know he is not wanted over here, either he gracefully resign or removed.”
Gautam said the continuing standoff had brought judicial functioning to a standstill, attributing the situation to what he described as the Government’s failure to act on the Bar’s demand.
“Entire judiciary has come to stand still because of one person and because of non action of the government, Kautam said.”
He said lawyers had expected their earlier protests to either prompt Kumar to resign as Advocate General or lead the Government to remove him, but neither had happened despite a sustained campaign.
“we had a series of agitation against Amit Kumar we though either Amit Kumar will himself resign as Advocate general or he will be removed but nothing happened till yesturday,” he added.
Gautam said abstaining from judicial work was a drastic step that the lawyers did not want to take, but maintained that the Government’s failure to respond to their demand had left the Bar with little choice.
“Drastic steps abstaining from work which we do not want to. We are well behaved bar. Government is not paying any heed to our demands. We have nothing against the court as the chief justice as well as the judges are very nice to the court.”
The High Court Bar Association and the Shillong Bar Association have resolved to intensify their agitation, with advocates practising before courts and tribunals across Meghalaya abstaining from judicial work from September 1. The decision followed an emergent joint executive committee meeting on August 31 and a unanimous resolution adopted at the Joint General Body meeting of all Bar Associations of Meghalaya on August 24.
The associations have maintained that the agitation is rooted in concerns over the “dignity, welfare and interest of the Bar”, alleging that the “action and conduct” of the Advocate General had caused damage to these interests. They have stressed that the campaign is aimed at protecting the interests of the legal fraternity and is not directed against the judiciary.
The Bar Associations had submitted a letter to the Government on August 7 seeking Kumar’s removal. The demand has since been followed by a series of protests, rallies and effigy-burning, but the associations maintain that no action has been taken by the Government in this regard. The Joint Executive Committee subsequently resolved that all advocates practising before all Courts and Tribunals in Meghalaya would abstain from judicial work with effect from September 1, 2026, until the Government removes Amit Kumar from the office of Advocate General, Meghalaya. Bail matters have been exempted from the abstention.
The agitation has been supported by Bar Associations from various districts across Meghalaya, widening the demand for Kumar’s removal across the State’s legal fraternity. The lawyers have maintained that their decision to abstain from judicial work was not taken lightly and that they have nothing against the courts, the Chief Justice or the judges. With talks failing to yield any concrete assurance, the lawyers have decided to continue the agitation until Amit Kumar either resigns as Advocate General or is removed by the Government.
