New Delhi: Chaotic and unprecedented scenes were witnessed in the Allahabad high court on Wednesday (October 28) as a group of lawyers vandalised the courtroom of Justice Ajay Bhanot while protesting against his alleged misconduct toward two advocates during judicial proceedings the previous day.A group of advocates entered Justice Bhanot’s courtroom (court no. 49) and raised aggressive slogans against him; tables and chairs inside the premises were also allegedly damaged and overturned.Condemning the actions of the protesting advocates as “absolutely contemptuous” and “wholly unjustified”, a separate bench presided by Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal directed court officials to immediately identify the lawyers involved and refer the matter to the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh for the initiation of formal disciplinary action and criminal contempt proceedings against them.The incident occurred just a day after the Allahabad High Court Bar Association sent an official letter to the chief justice of the high court, alleging that Justice Bhanot had publicly humiliated and insulted two lawyers inside his courtroom. The Bar Association highlighted that Justice Bhanot had instituted an arbitrary protocol under which a dedicated chair was placed in the front row of his courtroom exclusively for police officers or other senior administrative officials.Unprecedented scenes in Allahabad High Court 😳 https://t.co/MI7XYCM29l— sanjoy ghose (@advsanjoy) October 28, 2026On Tuesday, a superintendent of police (SP) from a district was seated in the row directly behind the additional government advocate (AGA). An advocate, using respectful language, requested the police officer to move to the back row, explaining that the front seats were not designated for police officials. Reacting sharply to this, the AGA rebuked the advocate, warning: “I will report you to the Honorable Justice when he returns.”As soon as Justice Bhanot entered the courtroom, the AGA made an official complaint against the advocate. Justice Bhanot reportedly pointed his finger at the lawyer and, using harsh words, ordered that the advocate be sent to jail, according to a jointly signed letter by senior advocate C.P. Upadhyay, president of the Bar Association, and Santosh Kumar Mishra, general secretary of the body.When the advocate attempted to offer an apology, the SP demanded a direct apology to himself. Although the lawyer complied and apologised to the police official, Justice Bhanot compelled him to do so, the Bar Association noted.The lawyers’ body further alleged that Justice Bhanot mocked senior advocate V.P. Srivastava, who was seated in the courtroom at the time, thereby undermining the professional dignity of the members of the bar. “This constitutes contempt of the Honorable Justice,” the Bar Association said.Requesting the chief justice of the high court to take urgent cognisance of the situation and institute appropriate remedial measures, the Bar Association announced a complete boycott of Justice Bhanot’s court. “This new tradition of appointing a particular person to the court clearly shows that if the court is free to insult a lawyer, then the lawyer will also not hesitate to insult the court,” the Bar Association warned in its statement.Lawyers ransacked a courtroom in the Allahabad High Court in protest against the judge. https://t.co/c8k4IxkOTM— Paras Nath Singh (@parasnsingh95) October 28, 2026No official comment or public reaction has been issued so far by the chief justice of the high court or by Justice Bhanot. However, Justice Deshwal – who was presiding over a bail hearing in court no. 66 when the protest erupted – noted in an order that certain advocates began shouting loudly in the corridor outside his courtroom, disturbing judicial proceedings.Upon learning the cause of the disruption, Justice Deshwal observed that “such [an] incident amounts to interference” in official court proceedings, especially when poor litigants visit the high court seeking legal redressal for their grievances. Merely because a section of advocates has a grievance against a particular bench, they cannot be permitted to raise slogans, shout, disturb the proceedings of other courts and use words which are “in the nature to intimidate” the court, Justice Deshwal remarked.The judge directed the registrar (protocol) of the high court to examine CCTV footage from cameras installed outside court no. 66, identify all the advocates involved in the disturbance and submit a detailed report by the next scheduled date of hearing on November 19.“This is wholly unjustified. Therefore, this court is of the view that such conduct of some advocates is absolutely contemptuous,” Justice Deshwal stated, adding that upon identifying the offending lawyers, the matter must be referred to the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh for the immediate initiation of disciplinary proceedings as well as contempt of court proceedings against them.