Swamy attacked by lawyers in Madras HC

The agitation by Madras High Court lawyers over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue took an ugly turn on Tuesday when a group of advocates shouting pro-LTTE slogans barged into a court hall and abused and roughed up Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy in front of two judges. Pandemonium prevailed in the court of Justice P K Mishra and Justice K Chandru when the advocates shut the doors from inside and hurled rotten eggs at Swamy, who was there to implead himself in a petition on Chidambaram temple issue. Order was restored after the shocked judges took exception to the behaviour of the lawyers, who also shouted pro-LTTE and alleged casteist remarks. The court proceedings came to a standstill for about 15 minutes because of the incident. Swamy, who is provided "Z" category security, requested the judges to allow his CRPF guards standing outside to enter the court for his protection, to which the judges agreed. He later sought permission to implead himself in the case after which the proceedings were adjourned to Feb 19. In a report to the Acting Chief Justice of the high court, the two judges recorded the unruly happenings in the court hall in detail and sought appropriate action. They also sent a copy of the report to the Chief Justice of India. Members of the Madras High Court Advocates Association have been boycotting city courts for the past two weeks over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue. Narrating the sequence of events, the judges in their order said the writ appeals (against a single judge order allowing the government to take over the administration of Chidambaram Lord Natarajar temple) were in the list for admission when the incident happened at about 11.45 am. When order in another writ petition was being dictated, an unruly mob consisting of many advocates entered inside the Court Hall No.3 and started shouting slogans in support of Sri Lankan Tamils. "Some members of the mob came and assaulted Subramanian Swamy. Similarly, some other members of the mob assaulted the police constables, who were standing behind Swamy. Similarly, another policeman, who was in the visitor's gallery, was also assaulted," the order said. "Some members of the mob threw rotten eggs inside the court hall and shouted slogans in filthy language. Such unruly behaviour continued despite being warned by the judges sitting on the dais. The functioning of the court came to a standstill for at least 15 minutes," the judges said. They said a copy of the order be placed before the Acting Chief Justice for "appropriate action" and also marked a copy to the Chief Justice of India. Joint Commissioner of Police (North) M Ramasubramani later told reporters that no complaint had been received from Swamy till the evening about the incident. Later, describing the incidents in the court as unruly, Swamy said he requested the court to take cognizance of the incident. He demanded the dismissal of the DMK Government, saying that the law and order situation in the state had worsened. Swamy said he would lodge a complaint on the incident in the Supreme Court through his counsel.

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