The All-India Lawyers Association for Justice (AILAJ) held its first National Conference on 28th and 29th May, 2022 at Bengaluru. Delegates from 11 states across the country participated in the same including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Delhi, Assam, Odisha, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala.
The All-India Lawyers Association for Justice was formed in the July 2020, and since then has been advocating the rights for the most vulnerable; standing up to the collective assault on people’s fundamental rights; working to secure decent pay and working conditions for lawyers; and taking principled political stances in a milieu that is increasingly being captured by right wing forces and conservative opinion.
As part of AILAJ’s founding national conference in Bengaluru, Senior Advocate Mihir Desai in an open session delivered a speech on “Countering the Fascist Assault: Role of Legal Community” on 28th May at the Institute for Agricultural Technologists, Queens Road, Bengaluru.
The Central Committee of AILAJ was formed and the following Office-Bearers were unanimously elected:
Adv. Maitreyi Krishnan – President
Adv. Dibakar Bhatacharya – Vice President
Adv. G. Ramesh – Vice President
Adv. Manju Sharma – Vice President
Adv. Clifton D’ Rozario – General Secretary
Adv. Mohammed Afeef – Treasurer
Adv. Surya Prakash – Secretary (in-charge of office)
The AIALAJ Conference resolved to stand in defence of the Constitution and the people, and to work towards a just and equal society. It resolved to build AILAJ as a mass organisation of all progressive and democratic sections of the legal fraternity to fight against the present fascist onslaught.
It also resolved to fight against the prevailing patriarchy, casteism and communalism within the judicial system and to secure economic equality among the legal fraternity for affirmative action and proportional representation for women, dalit, adivasi, religious minorities and marginalized communities in the Bar and the Bench.
It also resolved to take up the issues of law students including access to education, scholarships, internship stipend support, etc. and against capitation fees. It resolved to ensure the protection and safeguard the interest of all lawyers, including ensuring insurance, medical treatment, pensions, etc. It also called for the immediate release of progressive lawyers incarcerated by the State under various regressive laws. It resolved to fight against fascism and to protect the constitutional values of liberty, equality, justice and fraternity from any and all form of assault.
