Tamil Nadu Advocates return to court after more than a month of boycott

Relief to litigants: The Madras High Court is showing signs of returning to normality. Advocates resumed work on Monday ending their boycott of courts, which lasted more than a month, bringing relief to the litigant public. However, the High Court complex was sans police personnel and the recently introduced security system. But in a sign of return of normality, the High Court gate on Esplanade Road, by the side of the police station, which remained locked for the past several days, was opened on Monday. The boycott of courts by advocates started on January 30 to protest the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka and to demand a ceasefire in the island nation. Lawyers resumed attending courts on February 10, but on the same day they decided to boycott courts again till February 17 seeking the Union Government’s intervention to immediately stop the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka. They participated in a nation-wide boycott of courts to protest the amendments to Cr.P.C. on February 18. On February 19, there was a clash between the police and the advocates on the High Court premises, resulting in injuries to several persons. The attack on lawyers provoked them to boycott courts again. Following an order of a Full Bench suggesting that the Chennai Additional Commissioner of Police and the then Joint Commissioner of Police be suspended, advocates decided to return to court work from Monday. The boycott affected the litigant public greatly, particularly those whose cases were pending in lower courts. After the Madras High Court issued a notification that it would take up matters and decide them on merit from March 16, parties argued their cases in person and some of them obtained orders. On Monday, uniformed police personnel, who had manned the High Court gates in the past to regulate entry, were conspicuous by their absence. The State-level Joint Action Committee of lawyers, after due deliberations, has unanimously decided not to participate in the inquiry by N. Sundaradevan, according to committee convenor R.C.Paul Kanagaraj. Tamil Nadu Advocates Association president S. Prabakaran also said advocates would not appear before the Sundaradevan Committee, appointed by the State government, to inquire into police action and fix responsibility for the alleged excesses committed during the incident on the High Court premises on February 19. Mr.Prabakaran said the inquiry would be an “eyewash”. The High Court was seized of the matter and the CBI was probing the incident.

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