A ‘state’ of Constitutional breakdown and lawlessness – III

A ‘state’ of Constitutional breakdown and lawlessness – III


   



   

 

B R


Haran

 

09 Mar 2009

 

As an expression of ‘solidarity’ with the agitating lawyers of Chennai, the legal fraternity in the rest of Tamil Nadu resorted to violence and arson on 19 and 20 February, forcing the Director General of Police to issue ‘shoot at sight’ orders.

The
district lawyers joined the boycott move and in some courts even
hoisted black flags! Litigants were the worst affected as they could
not file their cases, appeals, or proceed with hearings. This has
naturally cost them time and money, but the legal fraternity is
oblivious to the plight of the common citizen. Politicians who have
been instigating the lawyers to strike work didn’t care about the
general public and continued with their political dramas. The Madras High Court had so far functioned only 9 days in the current year! 
 

Mr.
Justice Srikrishna began hearing the lawyers who deposed in groups, and
the hearings lasted almost the whole day. We sent our petitions through
the Registrar, who assured us that we would be called after the lawyers
completed their deposition.

While we were waiting, a group of lawyers menacingly approached us and tried to intimidate us and force us to leave the venue. They demanded we tell them why we were there, on whose invitation, and what we intended to tell the judicial commission. They even asked the Registrar to evict us!
The Registrar, instead of controlling them, tried to convince us to
leave the venue. We put our foot down and made it clear that we would
not leave without deposing before the commission. 
 

Meanwhile, the DGP, CoP, other Deputy & Joint Commissioners, the Chief Secretary and the Home Secretary came to depose. As the DGP and other officers entered, the lawyers booed and passed insulting comments. The officers deposed and left.

It was nearly


5 p.m.



and as the judge had not been informed of our presence, he prepared to
leave, but we approached him personally and requested audience, to
which he immediately acquiesced. So we were able to make our
depositions, and as we came out, the lawyers hurled invectives at us.

By
this time the venue was totally without police security, probably due
to the lawyers’ demands or by government’s order, so we thought it
prudent to leave silently. In the course of his two-day visit, Justice
Srikrishna also met the Judges of the Madras High Court and made a
complete inspection of the High Court and other places of conflict. 
 

Justice Srikrishna submitted his report on 5 March to the Chief Justice of India; it was taken up for hearing the next day. In his interim report Justice Srikrishna condemned the behaviour of the advocates and said they started the violence by provoking the police. He
recorded the events, right from the celebration of 54th birthday of
LTTE Chief Prabhakaran by pro-LTTE lawyers in November 2008 to the
severe violence unleashed on 19 February. Chronicling event by event,
he concluded that the lawyers acted like “hooligans.” 





 

Justice
Srikrishna observed that the police force went overboard in charging
against the advocates, though there was no doubt about the provocation
by the lawyers and their unruly behaviour; still the lathi was wielded
indiscriminately, beyond permissible limits. Yet he concluded that the police tried to act with restraint and acted only when the situation went out of control.

Justice Srikrishna also recorded his displeasure with the Madras High Court and the influence of politics, “My
view, albeit prima-facie, is that the soft-pedalling policy followed by
the Madras High Court Judges has led to the present piquant situation.
The lawyers appear to have been encouraged by the wrong signals sent
out and seemed to think that they could do anything and get away within
the court premises.

“Regretfully,
far from being the upholders of rule of law, the lawyers seem to have
behaved like hooligans and miscreants. The incidents that have
transpired over the last month or so make it clear that the lawyers
seemed to be under the impression that because they are officers of the court,
they are immune from the process of law and that they could get away
with any unlawful act without being answerable to the law enforcing
agency.

“It
is most unfortunate that the soft policy adopted by the Acting Chief
Justice of Madras High Court and its administration  sent out clearly a
wrong message that encouraged and emboldened the lawyers into becoming
law breakers. Undoubtedly, the political cross-currents from the Sri Lankan
Tamil issues and caste based issues contributed to and aggravated the
situation. It should have been made clear to the lawyers from the
beginning, in no uncertain terms, that whatever their political
ideologies, the court premises could not be utilized for airing them.” 
 

The Madras High
Court has produced great stalwarts and legal luminaries since its
inception; some lawyers used to teach and guide even British Lawyers
and Judges before independence. Centuries
of Tamil Nadu’s glorious legal history has lost its glitter in just two
decades, thanks to castes, quotas, and Dravidian politics.  





[Concluded]