Kerala woman advocate alleges assault by senior, vows legal action to bar his practice

Thiruvananthapuram: A young woman advocate who was allegedly "brutally assaulted" by her senior lawyer at his office a day ago said on Wednesday that she would take legal steps to ensure he is not allowed to practice law in the future.

The woman lawyer, Shyamily, also expressed satisfaction with the police investigation so far and said she hoped that her senior, advocate Beylin Das, would be arrested soon.

Speaking to reporters outside the Medical College Hospital, where she had come for treatment in the morning, Shyamily claimed that Das had beaten her once earlier when she was five months pregnant.

"He (Beylin) gets angry very quickly if we question anything he says or does. He had hit me earlier when I questioned his behaviour of throwing files at me. This time too, he got angry over an internal matter and assaulted me," she claimed.

The accused lawyer was unavailable for comment.

The woman lawyer also claimed that the members of the bar association on Tuesday were against permitting Beylin to be arrested from his chambers, a claim denied by the lawyers' body.

Shyamily said she chose the legal profession out of love for it, despite opposition from her family.

"I have worked very hard in this profession because I love it. No one has ever complained that I don’t work hard," she added.

Regarding her injuries, she said the doctors informed her that there was no fracture or loss of vision in her eye due to the assault.

"But there is a lot of swelling and pain. It’s difficult to speak or eat. Doctors said they cannot give me strong painkillers as I’m breastfeeding," she said.

Shyamily added that she had already sent a complaint via email to the Bar Council of India and would soon file a formal complaint in person with the Bar Association of the Vanchiyoor court.

"He has been suspended from the Bar Association. I will proceed legally. I don’t want him to practice as a lawyer anymore. I don’t know if he has assaulted anyone else in the past, but I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did," she claimed.

She added that several lawyers’ associations had extended support and expressed gratitude for the solidarity.

The Vanchiyoor police had said on Tuesday that a case has been registered against Beylin Das under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including non-bailable offences.

"Non-bailable sections have been invoked against the lawyer. A search is on to trace him. We are pursuing the case," a senior police officer said.