Hyderabad: Advocates demand enactment of “Advocates Protection Act”

Hyderabad: Advocate M Venkanna and Advocate P Vishnu Vardhana Rao of Indian Association of People’s Lawyers Civil Liberties Committee, Hyderabad on Tuesday demanded that the State government enact law to protect the Advocates by bringing “Advocates Protection Act” from the physical, verbal and immoral attacks on advocates and judicial administration by powerful private persons or public servants.

Speaking to media persons here, they said Advocacy was one of the old and noble professions of the society, which is to be treated as the only class of people engage in representing the others from age old times. “But in the recent times, there are disturbingly increased attacks on this profession as individuals and as an institution also. Two of such disturbing incidents occurred recently in Telangana State, which is the cause of concern for the legal fraternity, which made us to come before the media. They are the brutal physical attack on Advocate P Yugandhar at Tirumalgiri near Bhongiri by local MLA’s men and Cherlapalli Central Prison Superintendent l Santhosh Kumar Roy’s attack on Advocate D Suresh Kumar.

“In both these incidents, the Advocates are discharging their professional duty in the judicial institution. While the brutal attack on Yugandhar though registered as an FIR, but it was not registered under proper sections of law so as to indirectly protect the perpetrators of the alleged physical attack and the actual men behind the attack. We all, as advocates should stand in solidarity with young Advocate Yugandhar for his safety and security and for justice demanding the legal action on all those involved in the brutal attack incident.

As far as the incident of Advocate D Suresh Kumar is concerned, as a lawyer he reacted and volunteered to assist the 4th Addl District Judge Court of Rangareddy on May 16 in writing the complaint of one Syed Gaffoor an undertrial prisoner of Cherlapalli Central Prison on the alleged torture he met with by the jail staff under the direction of Prison Superintendent Santhosh Kumar Roy. The Court allowed the Advocate to assist and the complaint copy was also taken for further action by the 4th ADJ.

The Cherlapalli Prison Superintendent should answer the court on that day and prove the case if it is otherwise true. But, Santhosh Kumar Roy instead of doing that, chose to go to press and made “malicious, scurrilous and calculated verbal attack in his rejoinder by taking the name of Advocate D Suresh Kumar. He also referred another Writ Petition filed by Suresh Kumar for Bairi Naresh as if the case was dismissed against him on the allegations of Solitary Confinement in Cherlapalli Prison which is far from truth more over it is none of his business to point out what case an advocate takes and pursue.

Advocates do their duty as part of their professional privilege under the Advocates Act. So, commenting on the functioning of advocate openly will be amounting to interfering with the judicial functioning and it is a contemptuous act. In fact, it is unbecoming of a Public Servant with such a disrespectful and destructive comments on the court functioning. He must behave himself in the manner the Civil Servants service code limits him. If at all, any advocate violates any professional ethics, he can approach to Bar Council and he cannot go to press while he himself facing a criminal complaint in a court of law which is pending for adjudication. So, Santhosh Kumar Roy has to realize it is an act of inviting criminal defamation also if he comments on the advocates against him.

The advocates demand that the government bring a new Act for the Protection Advocates immediately. They also appealed to all advocates to stand in solidarity with young Advocate Yugandhar for his safety and security and for justice demanding legal action on all those involved in the brutal attack on him. They also demanded that Cherlapalli Central Prison Superintendent Santhosh Kumar Roy declare his apology for his comments against Advocate D Suresh Kumar.

Advocate G Partha Sarthy, Secretary, All India Lawyers Union, Advocate Bommagani Prabhakar, Secretary, Indian Association of Lawyers, B Konda Reddy, Telangana Bar Council Member, Advocate V Raghunath, former president of High Court of Telangana, Advocate Chikkudu Prabhakar, Telangana Praja Front, Advocate Syda Rao, Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, N Narayana Rao, secretary, Civil Liberties Committee, Advocate MA Shakil, All India Lawyers Council were also present at media conference.