The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Advocates association plea for initiating criminal contempt proceedings

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Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Advocates association plea for initiating criminal contempt proceedings

Special Correspondent

Against Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and senior police officers

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court Advocates Association on Monday prayed the High Court to initiate criminal contempt proceedings in a summary manner against the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary, the Home Secretary, and senior police officers in connection with the incidents in the High Court premises on February 19.

R.C. Paul Kanagaraj, president of the association, which had been impleaded as a respondent in a suo motu writ petition, said the State government and the police had committed gross contempt by assaulting Judges of the High Court, subordinate judiciary, court staff and advocates, destroying court property and obstructing justice by referring to the CBI a case for investigation contrary to the High Court’s order dated February 19. The police were also guilty of committing various cognisable offences within the court premises.

Mr. Kanagaraj said if the assault on advocates by the police was allowed to go unpunished, it was impossible for the legal community to fulfil constitutional obligations. The Constitution guaranteed to every person who was detained by police, the right to consult and to be defended by a legal practitioner.

Since the State government failed to take any action against the erring officials, the Supreme Court at the preliminary stage ordered the transfer of some officials, including the then Joint Commissioner of Police (North). The State government had not taken any other action though several cognisable offences had been committed by the police and even the High Court had recorded them in its order.

The association prayed for issuing interim orders for placing under suspension 15 police officers, including the Chennai Police Commissioner.

The First Bench comprising the Chief Justice H.L. Gokhale and Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla on Monday said a plea for initiating suo motu contempt proceedings based on the report of Justice Srikrishna, which probed the February 19 incidents, could be placed before a regular Bench comprising Justices S.J. Mukhopadhaya, V. Dhanapalan and K.Chandru. When advocates’ counsel made a mention that it was a serious matter, the First Bench asked him to file appropriate proceedings. “We are equally concerned,” it said.

Both the matters would come up before the regular Bench on March 11.

Meanwhile, the MHAA in a press release said Justice Srikrishna had offered no reason for not recommending any action against the police, who even according to the committee “went berserk using excessive force, raining lathi blows, targeting heads of judges, staff, lawyers and litigants and wantonly breaking court property.”

The association said Tamil Nadu lawyers would continue their struggle “to restore rule of law and to oppose police raj in the State.”

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