A day after assault on a policeman and others here, the Bar Council of India (BCI) on Tuesday asked leaders of Delhi lawyers’ association to immediately stop violence, identify the culprits and return to work.
The BCI said that hooliganism and violence have no place in the Bar.
“We are tarnishing the image of the Institution by sparing such rowdy elements. Our inaction and tolerance encourages them and ultimately results in contempt proceedings by the High Courts or Supreme Court,” BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said in a strongly worded letter.
Terming the incidents as “acts of grave misconduct”, he said that the beating the policeman by some of Saket court lawyers, assault of an auto driver, manhandling of general public, highlighted in news, were the most unfortunate and BCI was not going to tolerate them.
He gave them time till Wednesday to identify the accused lawyers for necessary action.
He further pointed out that the Delhi High Court had already ordered judicial enquiry into the lawyer-police clash on November 2 at Tis Hazari court.
“We must be obliged to the High Court that it came to our rescue quickly. Suo Moto cognizance was taken and all of your demands were accepted. You can’t even imagine of such substantial reliefs being granted in such a short time. Whatever you wanted, you got,” he said, adding that the demand of the Bar leaders for arrest of the policemen was meaningless till the conclusion of inquiry.
Maintaining that there was no place for anti-social, unruly or rowdy elements in the Bar, he said that the time has changed, courts have changed and so.
He told the lawyers that if the peace and harmony was not restored and resolution to abstain from work was not recalled, then it has no option
but to withdraw from this
episode.
