An argument over a parking spot spiralled into violence with clashes breaking out between lawyers and police personnel at Delhi’s Tis Hazari court on Saturday. Visuals of the violence showed lawyers pelting stones at a police jeep, another clip showed the vehicle set on fire, and smoke billowing from the court’s premises. CCTV footage showed a group of lawyers entering the court lockup. While some threw punches at police officers, others vandalised the place, throwing furniture. Not captured on camera, however, was police firing which led to one lawyer being injured. Over 20 police personnel and several lawyers were injured in the violence.
Saturday’s violent clashes between the lawyers and police officials was not the first in the country. TNM looks back on two occasions when courts in two cities came under siege as lawyers and police personnel rioted.
Madras High Court violence, 2009
It was February 19, 2009. It was a four-hour battle that the Madras High Court had never seen before. Lawyers, dressed in their black robes facing off against the Chennai police, who were dressed in riot gear. Stones were pelted, and vehicles were damaged by those on both sides. A police station within the High Court premises was set on fire. Judges chambers, court halls and libraries were not spared either in the rampage. Tear gas shells were fired by the police as they lathicharged the protesting advocates. The mayhem and violence witnessed in one of India’s oldest courts was unprecedented.
The trigger for the violence was an attack that took place on February 17, 2009 on then Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy by some advocates. Lawyers who were supporters of LTTE chief Prabhakaran had targeted Swamy when he made an appearance in court. Two days later, the Chennai police attempted to arrest the group of lawyers who were responsible for the attack on Swamy. The lawyers, however, demanded that Swamy be arrested for using casteist abuses against them. The argument quickly turned into violence as groups of lawyers and policemen threw stones and bottles at each other. Scores were injured including a judge. Police entered courthalls and lathi charged people inside the courts and many including Madras High court Justice Arumugaperumal Adityan were injured. The stand off went on for days and courts across the state came to a standstill.
What action followed?
The DMK government in Tamil Nadu ordered a CBI investigation into the violence. The Madras High Court initiated suo motu criminal contempt proceedings, while the Supreme Court appointed a Commission by retired apex court judge Justice BN Srikrishna to probe the violence.
Weeks after the incident, the Justice Srikrishna panel found that it was an “unruly mob of lawyers” who had provoked the violence, while the police went “beserk” once they got into action. While giving the then Chennai Police Commissioner K Radhakrishnan a clean chit, Justice Srikrishna Commission pointed out that the police use of force went beyond what was permissible.
Even as lawyers ‘rejected’ the Justice Srikrishna report, the Supreme Court referred the preliminary inquiry report to the Madras High Court for it to decide on the matter.
In October the same year, the Madras High Court found four police officers, including the then Commissioner K Radhakrishnan, and then Additional Commissioner AK Viswanathan, who is the present Chennai Commissioner, responsible for the violence. The court had found the police guilty of deploying additional police personnel, and of entering the court premises without permission, as well as in causing damage to court property.
The police officers were placed under suspension, but it was later stayed by the Supreme Court.
The CBI had in 2010 filed a chargesheet against 31 advocates, 10 police personnel and a law student under various sections. The four IPS officers, who were earlier indicted by the Madras High Court, were not named in the CBI chargesheet. The High Court had in 2013 rapped the investigation agency, for attempting to give them a clean chit.
Bengaluru lawyers, media and police clash
In Bengaluru, it was the city civil court that witnessed a riot on March 2, 2012. This time, however, lawyers attacked media persons who had come to cover CBI proceedings against mining baron Janardhana Reddy. The provocation was over ‘negative’ media coverage against lawyers who had clashed with police officials three months earlier.
It began with lawyers pushing journalists out of the court room on the judge’s instruction. But it was only after the court proceedings that things turned ugly. When lawyers demanded that the media vacate court premises, a heated argument turned violent- women journalists were pushed and groped, lawyers threw stones, helmets and furniture at the media crew. The police, who were passive bystanders, launched a lathicharge when one of their own were injured in the ruckus. Thereafter, some journalists together with police personnel reportedly went on a rampage, setting fire to vehicles, and beating up lawyers and those from the media fraternity who tried to stop them.
Over 80 people were injured including a judge, several media persons, lawyers and police personnel.
So, what happened next?
The BJP-led Karnataka government ordered a judicial probe led by RG Vaidyanathan into the incident, while the Karnataka High Court formed a Special Investigation Team headed by former CBI Director RK Raghavan to probe the violence. A year later, the Supreme Court also directed the CBI to investigate the matter. Since then, the agency has filed a charge sheet against at least 20 advocates, recommended departmental inquiry into three IPS officers including then Commissioner BG Jyothiprakash Mirji, even as the High Court pulled up the CBI for “succumbing to pressure” to delay filing the probe report.
However, more than three years after the incident, the Karnataka government-led by Siddaramaiah of the Congress was in no mood to accept the CBI’s recommendations, choosing not to prosecute the 54 police personnel who were allegedly involved in the violence.
Fast forward to 2019 and the pattern following the violence at Tis Hazari is largely same. A judicial inquiry has been ordered.
However, if 2009 and 2012 are anything to go by, it looks like the perpetrators of the violence - including those who are mean to uphold and lay down the law- will remain largely untouched.