The Supreme Court has transferred the Barabanki toll plaza case from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi. The court has strongly criticized the vandalism and arson carried out by other lawyers in the office of the lawyer taking up the case of the accused. The Supreme Court has also granted bail to all the accused. Also, the Bar Council of India has been asked to take appropriate action against the lawyers who indulge in violence.
This matter is of 14 January 2026. Advocate Ratnesh Shukla accused the Gotona Bera toll plaza employees of Lucknow-Sultanpur Highway of assault and got a case registered. In protest against the alleged assault on the lawyer, the remaining lawyers had decided not to fight the case of the accused. When a lawyer Manoj Shukla showed courage, his office was vandalized and set on fire.
The bench of Supreme Court Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta called the case extremely unfortunate. The bench said, ‘The profession of advocacy, once considered respectable, is now being tarnished by such hooliganism.’ The judges also said that the petitioners working at the toll plaza were only performing their duty. There is a possibility that the complaining lawyer might have opposed paying the toll. This may have led to a clash.
The judges expressed regret that due to non-cooperation and violent protest by the lawyers of Barabanki District Bar Association, the petitioners have been in jail for two months. The court called it a violation of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. Also, without waiting for the reply of the defendants, bail was granted to all the petitioners. It has also been said in the order that further action in the case will take place in Tis Hazari Court of Delhi.
The names of the 5 people who have been released on bail by the Supreme Court are Vishwajeet, Lovelesh Kumar Mishra, Golu Kumar, Ravi Singh Tomar and Jogban Singh Thakur. The court has ordered the DGP of Uttar Pradesh to ensure the security of the petitioners after their release. The court has also criticized the Uttar Pradesh Bar Council. The court said that the Bar Council did not take action against the lawyers who brought disgrace to the profession, but instead wrote a letter to the Chief Minister demanding action against the toll employees under the National Security Act (NSA).