Some people have such a talent of making best of bad situations that they go round creating bad situations so that they can make best of them. Today's incident is a classic example of one such situation. Police and media have exploited the situation so adroitly that innocent advocates, litigants and judges had to bear the brunt and the blame was thrown squarely at the doorstep of the legal fraternity.The purpose of this article is not to take up cudgels on behalf of the legal fraternity. This is the only profession where the fraternity members have to antagonise their own friends in the heat of the moment of conducting the trial, fight out their cases without fear or favour, and resolve the issues under the able guidance and expertise of Hon'ble Judges and hold on to each other proving the adage 'the real test to friendship (here professionalism) is to have difference of opinion and still hold on to each other'. And another unique aspect of this profession is that this is the only profession the juniors are nurtured and trained by the seniors and after the juniors elevation as reputed advocates of reckoning, they are not viewed as their professional rivals as is the case with other professions. In other professions the rivalry brings in bitterness and here a sense of satisfaction dawns on in the minds of the trainer. Hence one can surely expect that there is a manifestation of certain level of sense of tolerance and mood of accommodation and peaceful co-existence in the minds of the memebrs of the legal fraternity. There is a myth and the members of the legal fraternity are always victims to situations like 'if he or she is a lawyer why we have to entertain him/her as a tenant, why alliance should be sought in a family where one of the members is a lawyer etc.,' Lawyers are the people fight for the recovery of money for the
banks and the banks respect them by not honouring their request for bank loan and credit card. We used to wonder as to why the lawyers and judges are always equated with God. There is a logical explanation for this. The moment relief is granted all specified in the aforesaid category are forgotten. In the present day world, especially in India, the only class of people who have the courage to stand up to injustice, is legal fraternity. That is why lawyers are more resented than rewarded. It is rather unfortunate that the lawyer who takes up the problem of his clients in full vigor has no time for the complaints and grouses of his/her spouse. One may wonder why this preamble for the narration about today's incident. To understand a particular thing, one requires a clear understanding about the whole thing. It is rather shocking that
politicians, so called eminent people and responsible people without
elicitng keeness to go to the bottom of the problem, lap up with
alacrity whatever is fed to them through the media. The media, in the name of providing information to the general public is keen on showing what it wants to be shown to the viewers. What you see in media is not what had actually happened. It is a million dollar question as to whose stage managed show was successfully launched with the assistance of Police and Media today, the Black Friday. The following questions still linger not only on the minds of advocates but also all right thinking people.(a) whether an advocate going to the court will go with his files and
dockets or with arms and ammunitions?(b) Whether the city civil court premises which is otherwise clean, if littered with brickbats and pebbles inside, is it because of missiles being thrown from outside or they were contributed by the refuge
seeking advocates themselves?(c) who is the pawn and who is the manipulator in today's incident? (d) why the media should be supported by the Police (is it because the Police expects that the Media should soft pedal them turning a blind
eye and ear to the many misdeeds of the Police)?(e) when the entire civil court complex was besieged by the police from 11 am to 6pm, whether the media has come up with a comprehensive coverage? (f) where is the justification, that innocent advocates, litigants (old and young, male and female) were thrashed not only outside the Court premises but also inside the Court Hall premises. Even the judges were not spared. The fact finding visits of High Court Judges were treated
with indignity by the Police. (g) whether all people wearing black coats can be termed as advocates and acts and deeds perpetrated by them to be ascribed to real
advocates? (h) who is to give compensation to the hundreds of vehicles (both cars
and two wheelers) deliberately damaged by the Police in the name of lathi charge and controlling the so called unruly behaviour of advocates. (i) if the whole thing is viewed as pre planned by the fraternity members, is the intelligence of the State is so naive not to know about such pre meditated measures? (j) From experience and past incidents, it is common knowledge that everything is not well between advocates and police on one hand and advocates and media on the other. In such a situation why police has not come up reinforcements especially on a day when a very important accused was brought to the court. (k) who gave permission to the police to enter into the court hall premises and beat up people, advocates and judges indiscriminately. It is most unfortunate that the Police has gone to Principal City Civil & Sessions Judges Court Hall and indulged in brutalities. Will it not
amout to utter lawlessness, contempt of court and disrepect to the entire judicial system itself. What is the response of the so called critics, claiming to be the eminent persons, regarding this incident. Our heart really goes to the Hon'ble High Court Judges who have understood the gravity of the situation and without wasting time visited the premises immediately. It is hightime that an independent investigating agency should appraise of the situation and assess the damage caused to persons and property inside the city civil court premises. These images will leave an ineffacious mark on the memory of all the advocates whether it is shown in the media or not.
G. Krishnamurthy & K.S. Krishnan, Advocates.
