HC clash: Court issues notice to CBI

The Egmore Court here today ordered a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over the clash between the lawyers and the police on the Madras High Court premises on 19 February last.

The CBI had last week filed a chargesheet to prosecute 32 advocates and just five policemen for their role in the violence, besides recommending departmental action against 22 uniformed personnel.

Expectedly anguished over this, the Madras High Court Advocates Association and the Tamilnadu Advocates Association had called for a meeting to discuss the next course of action.

They also filed a petition stating that the chargesheet was one-sided and the Court should not accept it. When the petition came up for hearing today, Metropolitan Magistrate Killivalavan ordered a notice to the premier investigation agency of the country and adjourned the case to Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters outside the court complex, presidents of the Madras High Court Advocates Association and the Tamilnadu Advocates Association R C Paul Kanagaraj and S Prabakaran said the investigation by the Central agency was ‘not proper’. The chargesheet ran counter to the High Court judgment. It was highly one-sided, they alleged.

The chargesheet has been filed against 31 advocates and about 10 police personnel and a law college student. It has recommended departmental action against nearly 20 police personnel.

CBI’s version

The CBI on Friday last took the unusual step of holding a press conference to explain its stand on the case.  It said it has  charge- sheeted the accused policemen and advocates involved in the 19 February clash between lawyers and police on the Madras High Court premises, while admitting that there was ‘no evidence’ that the incident was pre-planned.

‘The CBI had requested different lawyers’ associations in writing and followed it up through reminders and personal requests to furnish material evidence relevant to the case.

However, most of them could not provide the relevant material evidence to identify the guilty police officers. ‘We had conducted an open investigation and given ample opportunity to all to furnish evidence,’ an official said.

CBI DIG Anurag said they had made no comments on the role of four top police officers, including then city police chief K Radhakrishnan in the incident, since the matter was sub-judice.