Stating that the Bar’s obligation to speak truth to power does not grant a “license to incite violence”, the Allahabad High Court has recommended criminal contempt proceedings against lawyers who allegedly assaulted staff and vandalised a courtroom on October 28.The bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot and Justice Divesh Chandra Samant has also asked the Registrar General to consider getting FIRs filed against those involved in the vandalism, as well as those who allegedly circulated “false information” about the incident on social media.“Anarchy is not a species of dissent. Freedom of speech at the Bar is not the freedom to slander the Bench,” the court said, observing that the legal process had no space for intimidation and violence.Referred the matter to the Chief Justice to launch criminal contempt proceedings against lawyers linked to the courtroom violence, the bench said, “The actions of the said lawyers… scandalised and lowered the authority of the court… (it) also interfered with the due course of judicial proceedings and obstructed the administration of justice. The aforesaid actions of the said lawyers prima facie constitute criminal contempt of this court,” the bench said.The suo motu contempt case stems from an October 28 incident in Court No. 49, where a group of lawyers allegedly shouted slogans and disrupted proceedings in protest against alleged misconduct by Justice Ajay Bhanot.A day earlier, the Allahabad High Court Bar Association had sent a letter to the Chief Justice on the same issue. It had objected to reserved seating for police and assisting officials in the court and alleged that Justice Bhanot humiliated an advocate, forced him to apologise, and even threatened him with jail time.Calling it “total falsehood,” the bench dismissed the allegations. It said that the seating arrangement was intended to help officials follow proceedings and assist the court. It also clarified that “no order was dictated nor exists on the record” where the court is ordering imprisonment of an advocate.Story continues below this adAdditionally, the bench said that a report submitted by the Registrar General stated that several state advocates, court staff, and a peon were assaulted in the ruckus. Videos, it said, citing the report, clearly captured the alleged assault by lawyers.The court also criticised the circulation of what it described as false narratives about the incident on social media. “A frenzy of social media falsehoods caused the carnage of truth. In fact, truth has ceased to be relevant,” it said.Referring to earlier cases of violence and criminalisation within the legal profession, including the July 2026 incident at the Lucknow District Court. It referred to organised gangs of law graduates registered with Bar councils who allegedly exploit their status to grab property, intimidate litigants, and sway court proceedings.“Criminalisation of the Bar, as noticed by this Court in the mentioned cases, is a fault line that is tearing at the very foundations of the judicial system in the State of Uttar Pradesh,” the bench said. “When the house is on fire, rearrangement of furniture cannot be the highest priority.”Story continues below this adThe court also said that it could not overlook the incident in the name of maintaining harmony between the bar and the bench. “Appeasement of violence in Court will make the Courts vulnerable to blackmail and not prevent recurrence of violence. Violence is not sated by appeasement. Violence can be curbed by bringing the perpetrators to justice and by establishing the deterrence of law,” it said.