news details |
|
|
| Group of lawyers ransack farewell party at HC | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 21: Deafening sound of cutlery smashing, tables turned upside down, loud slogan and wide range of invectives –all of this, unpleasant, unbecoming and unprecedented formed an ‘approved for reporting’ scene at the ground floor of Jammu wing of Jammu and Kashmir High Court this afternoon.
It sounds daft and absurd but the free for all situation was hosted by a large group of lawyers and not any under-trial criminal gone berserk in the court premises on hearing an undesired judgment. “Unpleasant and unprecedented”, this is how many lawyers described but may wanted the Bar Association to own a collective responsibility for all that happened in presence of many judges.
According to an eyewitness account it all happened this afternoon when a group of lawyers had gathered inside the bar room to accord farewell to a retiring judge. At the same time, another group of lawyers, clearly outnumbering those who were part of the farewell party gathered in the central lobby and began shouting slogans. President of the Bar Association Sunil Sethi was making speech in honour of the retiring Judge at that particular moment, an eye witness said.
In a matter no time, the group of lawyers boycotting the farewell party swelled in numbers and took over the venue where food stalls had been arranged. The protesting lawyers were apparently expecting a response from the farewell party room which they did not get. After making loud noises and sloganeering, the protesting lawyers started smashing the plates and glasses (kept there for party lunch) on floor and walls.
“Not less than 200 plates were broken in a free for all situation”, said an eyewitness wishing not to be named. A lawyer, who also preferred anonymity, said, “differences among the lawyers fraternity have often cropped up on range of issues but what happened this afternoon was simply unprecedented”. When asked who he holds responsible for the unprecedented incident, he said, “it should be a collective responsibility…those who were planning this and those didn’t want anything like this to happen were all well aware of clear possibility of this incident happening”. He added, “a middle path should have been worked out for preventing such disgraceful event to happen in the High Court premises and that on the eve when adieu was being bade to a judge who spent years at the bench and decided thousands of cases.
When contacted, the President of Jammu Bar Association, Advocate Sunil Sethi dismissed the incident as insignificant. “We don’t accord any importance to such incidents”, Sethi told Early Times. On being insisted to comment on the cause of incident (in his capacity as Bar President) which he admitted as “unpleasant”, Sethi said, “there were a couple of drunken guys (lawyers) who created this scene”. He added, “the party went off well and the honourable judge was accorded a warm send off”.
Sources, however, said that no one could take lunch at the party as a rumour was spread about food having been fouled by the angry protesting lawyers. Later in the evening it was learnt that reacting to afternoon’s incident, the Bar Association expelled three of its members. Even though the Bar president refused to comment, the expelled members were identified by sources as: Advocates Ashok Basotra, Umesh Sharma and Rajesh Kohli.
When reached over phone, Basotra had a detailed and no-holds-barred statement to make on the issue. He said though he reached the venue little late and most of the job (commotion) had already been done “but yes we were categorically opposed to the Bar’s initiative of organizing any farewell party”. He claimed that a majority of members had informed the Bar President Sethi in writing this morning and also on Thursday advising him against organizing the farewell party. When asked why the lawyers (whatever number of them) opposed organizing farewell party, Basotra said, “we had reservations against retiring judge”. He went to on explain the reasons which this reporter finds beyond the scope of present news item.
Saying that more than 200 plates and glasses were broken in the melee and no one ate food the party, Basotra claimed, “only 50 lawyers were the part of farewell party while the majority either abstained or took part in the protest”.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
