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Wednesday, Feb 25, 2009
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Lawyers urged to return to work

Special Correspondent

Their representatives fail to turn up for a meeting with the government

“Some parties trying to derive mileage”
Main demands conceded, says Durai Murugan

CHENNAI: The striking lawyers should return to work since they did not have any issue with either the litigant public or the courts, Finance Minister and Leader of the House K. Anbazhagan appealed in the Assembly here on Tuesday.

Intervening in the debate on the budget proposals for 2009-10, he said lawyers should have faith that the government and the Chief Minister would hold appropriate enquiries and punish those responsible for the violence on the High Court premises. Some political parties were trying to derive mileage out of the unfortunate incident, he said.

Boycott threat

The Registrar General, High Court, said the Madras High Court Principal Seat and its Madurai Bench would start functioning from Wednesday. But advocates said they would boycott the courts, demanding action against the police personnel responsible for the lathicharge in the court on February 19.

City Civil Courts, Small Causes Courts and tribunals on the High Court premises would function from March 2.

PWD and Law Minister Durai Murugan said invitations were sent to the representatives of lawyers’ associations on the meeting. They had agreed to take part. He, the Chief Secretary and senior officials waited till past noon on Tuesday but there was no sign of the representatives of lawyers. They had also not intimated that they would keep away.

Mr. Durai Murugan said the main demands of the advocates and the judiciary had been conceded. They wanted a CBI probe, the transfer of the Joint Commissioner of Police and compensation for the damage. While the first two had been immediately conceded, a committee was constituted to study the damage in the court.

A case on the issue was coming up in the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Some political parties too had approached the Supreme Court with the hope that the government would be dismissed, he said.

Mr. Durai Murugan and a team of senior government officials led by Chief Secretary K.S. Sripathi held discussions with senior advocates, Natarajan, V. Prakash and Haridas, who arrived for a meeting at the Secretariat in the afternoon.

During discussions, the government made it clear that its door was always open to negotiations and that an amicable solution could only be found through negotiations. The government was also “willing to do more.”

Team calls on injured

A team of Ministers and senior DMK party persons visited the injured advocates who were undergoing treatment in various city hospitals. The government is also considering adequate compensation for the injured.

The team consisted of Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy, Health Minister M.R.K. Paneerselvam and Dr. Poongothai Aladi Aruna.

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Supreme Court hurt at unruly behaviour

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In pics — Violence in Madras High Court

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