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Indian lawyers, police fight
pitched battles on high court premises
WSN Network
 CHENNAI: In scenes
that hardly help the Indian argument at international forums that it
is a robust democracy with respect for law and order, the southern
Indian state of Tamil Nadu saw unprecedented violence on the
premises of the Madras High Court with lawyers and police clashing,
police post being set afire, lawyers beaten badly and both sides
remaining adamant that what they did was justified. At one stage,
police made judges run for their dear lives.
Lawyers were
protesting against the arrest of their colleagues in an assault case
and fought pitched battles with police personnel for several hours
last Thursday. Policemen smashed hundreds of vehicles of lawyers and
burst tear gas shells while lawyers in turn burnt a police post and
the battle left a High Court judge, more than 50 lawyers and several
policemen injured.
High Court judges
who came to the premises to see the damage caused to advocates’
vehicles had to run when they were confronted by lathi-wielding
policemen. Fire fighters who tried to put out the flames engulfing
the police station were attacked by the advocates.
The chain of events
was set off by the police attempt to arrest a group of advocates
involved in the attack on Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy
and some policemen in the court complex on February 17. Advocates
demanded that Dr. Swamy be also arrested for abusing one of their
colleagues on caste lines.
Heated arguments
over this led to violence.
Acting Chief
Justice, S.J. Mukhopadhaya, was told about the “police excesses”.
Later, when a few judges went towards the policemen, with the
slogan-raising advocates following them, the policemen resorted to
lathi charge. In this melee, Justice Arumuga Perumal Adityan, was
hit by a stone and he suffered a head injury.
Lawyers taking the
law into their own hands in
India
is not a new phenomenon. With the judiciary often taking a
sympathetic view of violations and excesses by members of the Bar,
organised groups of lawyers have at times crossed the limits of law
without fear of punitive action.
What was
exceptional about the clash was the decision by both, lawyers and
the police, to match each other in their lawlessness. Stones that
came their way were quickly thrown back by the police, who also
smashed vehicles parked inside the court complex to vent their
anger.
On Tuesday, the
stand off continued as the lawyers remained defiant and refused to
come for negotiations that the government had arranged. Tamil Nadu’s
law minister had called for two rounds of meeting with the striking
lawyers with the DGP, and the public prosecutor representing the
government.
On Monday, some 300
lawyers held a day-long fast in front of the Madras High Court. The
boycott of the courts is on. Frustrated, the Tamil Nadu chief
minister M Karunanidhi has threatened that it will be his turn next
to go on a hunger strike if the police-lawyers failed to end their
deadlock.
25 February 2009
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