Lawyers bodies to identify those indulging in violence

A day after assault on a policeman and others here, the Bar Council of India on Tuesday asked the Delhi lawyers association leaders to stop the violence immediately, identify the culprits and come back to work, saying hooliganism and violence has 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,” the BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said in a strong worded letter.

Terming the incidents as “acts of grave misconduct”, he said the beating the policeman on bike by some of Saket court lawyers, assault of an auto driver, manhandling of general public, highlighted in news, were the most unfortunate and Bar Council of India was not going to tolerate it. He gave time till Wednesday to identify the accused lawyers for necessary action.

He further pointed out the Delhi High Court had already ordered judicial enquiry into the lawyer-police clash on Saturday, 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 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 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 have no option but to withdraw from this episode.

“We will neither participate in enquiry nor we will be in a position to defend anyone inside or outside court, he said.