Were you angry listening to the lawyers on India's Daughter? A petition calls for action

Were you angry listening to the lawyers on India's Daughter? A petition calls for action
Were you angry listening to the lawyers on India's Daughter? A petition calls for action
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Siddharth Mohan Nair | The News Minute | March 6, 2015 | 11.30 AM ISTAgainst the archaic, anti-women and reprehensible views that were aired by two lawyers of the accused in the infamous Delhi gang rape case of 2012, an online petition has been created. The petition, addressed to the Chairman of the Bar Council of India, demands action to be taken against the two lawyers in question. In the controversial BBC documentary titled “India’s Daughter” about the infamous Delhi gang rape, the lawyers of the accused Messrs M.L. Sharma and A.P. Singh had aired some views which were shocking and has created much outrage.M.L. Sharma, in the documentary, had likened women to a flower and said that “flower always need protection. If you put that flower in a gutter, it is spoilt. If you put that flower in a temple, it will be worshipped.” A.P. Singh had said that he would set on fire even “my daughter or sister engaged in pre-marital activities and disgraced herself.” Raghul Sudheesh, a legal journalist, who started this petition demanding action against the lawyers says that he is not against people airing their views per se.See the petition - Take action against lawyers ML Sharma and AP Singh“It is not that I want to curtail their freedom of speech or expression but this sort of views by people from the legal community itself is not acceptable. Such statements bring down the dignity of the profession,” Raghul told The News Minute. “We call our country Bharat Mata but it seems as if there is no space for women at all. Statements like these make issues worse,” he added.Meanwhile, speaking to the Outlook, the Chairman of the Bar Council of India said that it could not take any suo moto action against the lawyers. "Unless and until the council gets a complaint in writing, we cannot initiate any action. Until now, we have not received any complaint in this regard. Once the complaint comes, we will examine that and only then we can do anything. Comments against women appear to be unwarranted, but we cannot do anything unless we get some complaint in this regard," Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra had said.Raghul Sudheesh expressed hope that the petition he has initiated makes the Bar Council take action. “An action against the two lawyers will set an example and prevent others from making similar comments,” he said. See the petition here. TweetFollow @thenewsminute

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