The Bar Council of India held a joint meeting with State Bar Councils on Sunday, under the chairpersonship of BCI chief Manan Kumar Mishra and passed a resolution. The resolution requested the Centre to create strong laws that would protect advocates in the event of an attack.
The press release from the Bar Council of India stated that the meeting agreed that the Central Government should create laws that would protect the lives, interests, and privileges of advocates and their families. In the event of an attack or injury to them or their family, an effective compensation payment system should also be put in place.
Following an incident on Friday, a woman was pursued and reportedly shot multiple times in a court located in Saket by a lawyer who had been suspended. The lawyer then fled the scene on his motorcycle.
Kameshwar Kumar Singh, who was accused of shooting M Radha and Ajay Singh Chauhan, was apprehended by a team from the Delhi Police Crime Branch at his brother’s residence in Faridabad. During the incident, Radha suffered injuries from two bullets that grazed her abdomen and right arm, while Chauhan sustained a bullet wound on his right arm.
A video of the incident showed Singh pointing his gun at Radha on the staircase leading to the lawyers’ block and firing several shots at her as she screamed and tried to run to the other side. The police believe that Singh was motivated by personal enmity as he had filed a case against Radha last year, accusing her of cheating him of Rs 25 lakh. The hearing for the case was scheduled for Friday.
Vinod Sharma, who is the President of the Saket Bar Association, stated that the security measures are regularly enforced at the court premises, and security personnel stationed at the entrance are equipped with handheld and door-frame metal detectors. Sharma also mentioned that the bar association members have had meetings with senior officials to improve security and additional security personnel will be deployed in the upcoming weeks.
During a meeting held jointly by the Bar Council of India and state bar councils, it was decided unanimously that the matter of legally acknowledging same-sex marriage, which is considered a sensitive issue, should be left to the legislature. This is because the legislature is said to be a representative of the people’s will.
Additionally, the resolution states that many responsible citizens of the country are concerned about their children’s future due to the Indian Supreme Court’s consideration of marriage equality. The resolution claims that 99.9% of the people are against the idea of same-sex marriage.
In addition to their opposition to current same-sex marriage cases being heard by a Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, the bar councils have also deliberated and approved resolutions on several other matters. These include establishing uniform rules for enrolment fees, endorsing the Bar Council of India’s rules for registering and regulating foreign lawyers and law firms in India (2022), determining criteria for becoming a voter or member of state bar councils or the Bar Council of India and addressing the issue of lawyers’ strikes.
To ensure the safety of not just lawyers, but also judges and litigants present in courts throughout the country, the Supreme Court has instructed all high courts to report on the status of the installation of CCTV cameras in court complexes. A group of judges, including Justices Ravindra Bhat and Dipankar Datta, are reviewing a group of petitions that requested specific measures to bolster the security of court facilities across India and the people engaged with the judicial system in various roles.
