“A Bad Start For Judiciary In ‘Tn’ This Year Too “

The upmost Judiciary in Tamil Nadu has started badly in this year also because of the on going court boycotts by the legal fraternity, since January 22, like last year.

The year 2009, started with lawyers strike to show their solidarity on Sri Lankan Tamils cause, which was followed by throwing rotten eggs on DR Subramanian Swamy, President of Janata Party , in side the court hall before two senior most judges, continued with dharnas, processions and burning effigies of Indian Prime minister DR Manmohan Singh, UPA Chair Person Ms Sonia Gandhi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Mr M Karunanidhi and Srilankan President Mahenda Rajapaksaa and ended with a bloody Police- Lawyers clash in side the Madras High Court campus, which lead to burning of a Police Station as well as brutal attack on agitating advocates by police.

The entire courts in the state paralysed for more than three months. After the High Court and the Supreme Court of India intervened and appointed inquiry commission and CBI probe, the situation came to a halt temporarily.

The Madras High Court found fault on some of the Senior Police officers for the Clash and directed the Tamil Nadu Government to take action and the officials moved Supreme Court against the judgment.

In this back drop, the CBI finished their inquiry and filed a charge sheet in an Additional Chief Metropolitan Court in Chennai, in which the investigating agency sighted 31 Advocates and one law College student as accused in the High Court violence case.

The CBI also held that these advocates were responsible for firing the police station on February 19, 2009.

Major advocates associations had announced a boycott of court proceedings in the state from January 23 which is being continued even at present.

“The Joint Action Committee (JAC) has decided to reject the charge sheet filed by CBI against advocates, also it urges the investigating agency to file charge sheet against top police officers as per the direction of the high court.”, Mr.R C Paul Kanagaraj, the President of the Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA) said.

“We will abstain from proceedings to highlight the deliberate omissions in charge sheet,” Kanagaraj added.

Various advocates associations filed petitions before the additional metropolitan magistrate court, seeking the return of the charge sheet filed by the CBI, subsequently it was dismissed by the magistrate. Meanwhile a lady advocate, Ms Angayar Kanni, filed an appeal petition against the magistrate’s order in the high court and obtained a stay for further proceedings in the lower court.

The legal fraternities are continuing their court boycott to stress their demand, the day when they would return to attend the court is unknown.

“Obviously this year has also started for the state judiciary system with boycotts of learned lawyers. Ultimately the sufferers are the poor litigants. This is a sad state affairs”, an eminent jurist practising for three decades in the high court said.

- Asian Tribune -