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Bar association calls Berhampur bandh tomorrow

— Photo: Lingaraj Panda

Members of the Ganjam Bar Association taking out a rally demanding unconditional release of the arrested lawyers in Berhampur on Wednesday.

BERHAMPUR: The Ganjam Bar Association has given a call for Berhampur bandh on April 25 in protest against the police lathicharge on lawyers on the Berhampur court premises on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the Berhampur court premises wore the look of a war zone with deployment of 12 platoons of police. The Bar association held a meeting to discuss their future course of action. On Tuesday, the administration opened the district judge court in the city amid tight security. The police also resorted to lathicharge on lawyers. Thirty-three lawyers were arrested and some of them were charged with attacking the district judge. The administration and police used force to reopen the court when the high court directed them to get it opened. The court remained closed for 139 days due to agitation by lawyers.

The arrested lawyers were lodged in Berhampur jail. The members of the Bar association, led by its president S.N. Rath also went to the jail to hold discussions with them. At the request of the arrested lawyers, the Bar association members decided not to move any bail petition for them as it would mean breaking their continuing cease work agitation for the establishment high court bench. They, however, asked the government and administration for unconditional release of arrested lawyers as they alleged that the police framed false cases like attempt to murder against them.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr Rath said they resolved to observe bandh on April 25 to protest against the police excesses on lawyers.

The Bar association decided to lodge FIRs at local police station against the police for ransacking the association’s library and furniture. They would also apprise the court and the human rights commission of the police atrocities on lawyers and demand action against the erring policemen. Mr. Rath said the police force was disrupting the court’s functioning if it was open. “Entry of litigants and lawyers into the court is almost barred by massive deployment of police force and closure of gates which speaks the reality behind the functioning of courts reopened by the administration,” he said.

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