The Jammu High Court Bar Association on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it did not support lawyers’ protest…
Supreme Court of India (Photo: IANS/File)
The Jammu High Court Bar Association on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it did not support lawyers’ protest in connection with the Kathua gang-rape and murder case.
The Bar Council of India told the court that they have constituted a team, headed by a former high court judge, which will visit Kathua to assess the situation relating to lawyers’ protest.
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The top court pulled up Jammu lawyers for obstructing the filing of charge sheet in the case even as they claimed they were protesting on a different issue.
“We are not concerned with anything, we are concerned with fair trial. You created a situation, police had to file the charge sheet at the residence of the magistrate,” said a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud.
The lawyers insisted that they were protesting on a different issue that got mixed up with the filing of the charge sheet
“Whatever may be the background (of the protest), the resultant action was wrong,” Justice Misra said as the court was told that the protesting lawyers have retreated and assured that there would be no obstruction in the trial of the rape and murder of the eight-year-old victim from the Bakerwal community in Jammu’s Hiranagar area.
Meanwhile, the Kathua District Bar Association told the bench that they have already withdrawn the strike on April 12 itself.
On 13 April, the apex court had taken serious note of lawyers obstructing the judicial process in the Kathua gang-rape and murder case and initiated a case on its own accord, saying such impeding of the process of law “affects the delivery of justice”.
The top court had said that lawyers’ bodies have solemn duty to not obstruct advocates representing the accused or the victims’ family in the courts.
(With inputs from agencies)
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