Police is not above law; nor are lawyers. For the past few days the city of Madras has been witnessing a few incidents which would make one wonder if law applies to lawyers or not.
Students of the city's only law college, Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, have been on a protest for the past two weeks. The 125-year-old college building had developed cracks because of the metro work going in its vicinity, and the building was closed for renovation. Classes were to happen in the new building in the same campus. Rumours had then surfaced that the college authorities intended to shift the under graduate law course from that campus to a new place in the outskirts of the city. There wasn't even a circular issued to this effect but the students began a protest. It went on for more than a week and it spread to other government law colleges in the state. Few other colleges too supported the students.
I saw the protest from inside and I knew what was happening. The recommendation to shift the UG course from the campus was made in a committee report which was published in 2008. The protesting students had not read the report and had not bothered to even find out why such a recommendation had been made in the first place. The old building was asked to be closed by an order of the Hon'ble High Court of Madras. Students did not even consider moving the court first.
Their first act was to block the roads in the heart of the city for hours together, following which the police said that they would be arrested. When few students created ruckus, one even having the audacity to slap a police man, the police had to resort to lathi charge. The argument that many students made was this. How could police even touch law students? As if they were above the law itself! I had myself witnessed instances where students hit policemen. They also verbally abused, in very foul language, senior police officials. Later when they were demanding action against the policemen for having resorted to lathi charge they were again abusing them. They threw waste paper on the police constables standing near the protest site.
The practicing lawyers who are supposed to set an example to the law students are even worse. Members of an advocate association raised slogans against the Chief Justice inside his court room few days back when he was hearing a case. The advocates wanted the Chief Justice to consult them before he sent the names of advocates who could be considered for judgeship. For a provision which found no place in law, these lawyers marched inside the court in protest, raised slogans against the Chief Justice, and asked him to leave their court and return to his home state! The Chief Justice could have very well taken the unruly lawyers to task by issuing a contempt of court notice against them, but he chose not to. Instead he expressed "anguish" at their behaviour.
There has also been an unfortunate and highly deplorable incident in the last one month. A lawyer was stoned to death by his colleagues at the Bar inside the court campus in the city. The police has registered a case but it is being said that justice is not going to be delivered as the lawyers involved in it are rowdies, extortionists; police themselves are scared of these elements.
As far as I have come to understand, Tamil Nadu is the state where number of such lawyers who have scant regard for the law and police is the highest. They have a belief that they can do anything and get away just because they are lawyers. The Bar Association which can take adequate action is pliant.
Former Chief Justice of the Hon'ble High Court of Madras Mr. Justice Markandey Katju had shared the following video in Facebook. "This is what some Tamilnadu lawyers have come down to," he wrote. The video speaks for itself. But do notice the manner in which a group of lawyers started hitting a police constable that too in presence of a senior police official. They are seen kicking the police vehicle, hitting it with their footwear. It magnifies the contempt that they have towards the police, which is an arm of the State. It was the duty of the senior police officer to protect his subordinate. To that extent I will say that the officer is at fault too. I wonder if this attitude of these lawyers would change. Hope it does.
Post by Markandey Katju.
