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current affairs

he clashes between law Cops coercive action against lawyers. but after seeing Delhi Police’s conduct,
practitioners and law en- Advocates are officers of the court it cannot “sit tight over the matter”. The
forcers in New Delhi have and are bound by a code of conduct council alleged that the policemen re-
prompted the Bar Council
the legal institution into disrepute. The versus against offending policemen and law- threatened to “smash and kill lawyers”.
T of India (BCI) to ask various and should not have taken the law into mained “absent from duty, shouted slo-
gans, used filthy language” and openly
their own hands. Action must be taken
Bar bodies to identify lawyers who are
indulging in hooliganism and bringing
The BCI, in its letter, also demanded the
yers, both. The home ministry and the
trigger in this case has been a video go- government have to intervene to work formation of a high-level committee to
out a mechanism where differences be-
find out who were involved in “plan-
ing viral on social media sites showing tween two pillars of the criminal justice ning the illegal protest of police yester-
one policeman on a motorbike alleg- men in system do not descend into criminality day”. “Our demand is to arrest the guilty
edly being repeatedly slapped and el- and chaos. police officials within a period of one
bowed by lawyers. The Bar Council of India has come week, failing which we shall resort to
It would be unwise to blame men in down hard on the police, saying the peaceful dharna for the arrest of these
black or cops for the clashes because black protest seemed to be “politically mo- people and for proper disciplinary ac-
both the police and lawyers consider tivated”, termed it the “darkest day in tion against them. The Bar stands unit-
themselves privileged. Little doubt the history of independence”, and de- Both lawyers and ed,” said the BCI statement. Senior officers of the
when lawyers and policemen clash, manded the arrest of police officers in-
there are going to be sparks. In this case volved in Tis Hazari clash. The lawyers police are very ater hearing a petition filed by the organisation may
lawyers allegedly hit policemen and The rift between police and are so upset that two lawyers in Rohini important for the ministry of home affairs on the encourage and boost
damaged several vehicles and when lawyers widens, bringing District Court tried to kill themselves. L Tis Hazari clash, the Delhi High
police force and their families protest- One lawyer, Ashish Choudhary claim- society. The situation Court declined to order a modification the morale of the
ed, the lawyers struck work. The Delhi both institutions to disrepute, ing that reputation of lawyers had been of conflict amongst of its order. The order had asked Delhi force by adequate
High Court asked police to not to take reports tehelka bureau tarnished doused himself with petrol Police to not take any coercive action
them is unfortunate. against lawyers while directing transfer assurances to them
I hope the situation of special commissioner Sanjay Singh that they have
and additional deputy police commis-
improves soon. We sioner Harendra Singh. The court also complete support of
have worked for both appointed a judicial inquiry panel to their seniors and that
probe the clash. Effectively, it restricts
police and lawyers the police from taking any coercive the rule of law will
action against lawyers over clash. As
— Arvind Kejriwal, the lawyer-police-standoff persisted, prevail
Delhi Chief Minister Delhi’s lieutenant governor Anil Baijal
held a meeting with police commis- — Karnal Singh,
sioner Amulya Patnaik and other top DPRGOA president
before his colleagues stopped him. officers.
Other lawyer, Rohit Pathak threat - The protesting lawyers do not was captured in a video being repeat-
ened to jump off the top of a building in appear to be in a mood to relent in the edly slapped and elbowed by lawyers.
the complex. confrontation triggered when a dispute It is worth mentioning that the
Lawyers in Delhi have boycotted over a lawyer parking his car at the Tis Law Commission of India had recom-
work and prevented litigants from Hazari complex flared into violence, mended a slew of amendments to the
entering the premises. Proceedings at including a police baton charge and Advocates Act (Regulation of Legal
Patiala House Court, Tis Hazari District at least two shots fired. Twenty-one Profession), 1961. The Commission had
Court, Karkardooma District Court, policemen and eight lawyers were observed that advocates’ unprofes-
Saket District Court, Dwarka District injured in the clash, according to the sional conduct, such as going on ‘fre-
Court and Rohini District Court have police count. quent strikes’ to protest over ‘irrel -
remained stalled as the lawyers went Around 3,000 policemen and po- evant issues’, had reached ‘terrifying
on strike to protest the police action licewomen took part in protest, a dem- proportions’. Though the amendments
and alleged use of force on advocates. onstration of anger over an assault on have not seen the light of day amid stiff
In a statement issued in the after- members of the force by lawyers at the resistance from the lawyers, it is be-
math of the unfortunate clash, the BCI Saket district court on Monday and an yond doubt that the profession needs a
chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said expression of their resentment over self-regulatory mechanism.
that the Council had asked the Bar senior officers for not rising to their
Association of Delhi to call off the strike, support. One policeman on a motorbike letters@tehelka.com

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