KANPUR, Oct. 16 -- Lawyers in Kanpur will abstain from judicial work on Friday (October 16) to support their association leaders, who have been summoned by a committee constituted by the Allahabad high court to respond to show-cause notices over the weekly boycott of court proceedings. Kanpur Bar Association general secretary Vinay Kumar Mishra and Lawyers Association general secretary Rajeev Yadav announced the decision at a press conference on Thursday. The decision was taken at a joint meeting of the two associations held at 2.30 pm under the chairmanship of bar association president Yogendra Kumar Awasthi. The lawyers said the protest was part of a statewide decision taken at a provincial lawyers' conference on September 10 and 11. As part of their 15-point charter of demands, lawyers across Uttar Pradesh had decided to abstain from judicial work every Wednesday. The protest is against a Supreme court decision restricting lawyers from abstaining from judicial work and remarks made by Allahabad high court judge justice Vinod Diwakar, which the lawyers have termed insulting and unconstitutional. The two associations said a committee constituted by the Allahabad high court had issued show-cause notices to the presidents and general secretaries of district bar associations across Uttar Pradesh. Kanpur bar association president Yogendra Kumar Awasthi and its general secretary Vinay Kumar Mishra, along with office-bearers of the Lawyers' Association, have been summoned to appear in person before the committee on Friday. At Thursday's meeting, lawyers decided that those wishing to accompany their leaders to the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court could do so voluntarily, making their own travel arrangements. They were also urged to maintain discipline and wear the prescribed advocates' dress. The associations also warned that if the committee removed their presidents or general secretaries from their posts over the protest, they would take steps to reinstate them under the Societies Registration Act and the associations' rules. The two associations said all lawyers in Kanpur would stay away from judicial work on Friday in support of their leaders....