New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today asked bar associations here to mull over its suggestion to make lawyers from the northeast special invitees in their meetings as well as give any other recommendation to provide advocates from that region more visibility and people greater safety.
A bench of justices G S Sistani and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal also said each and every person, including lawyers, have to “take up the role of policemen” to prevent racial attacks against people from the northeast and women in general as it is not possible to provide one cop per individual.
“One policeman per person is not possible. We all are policemen. Unless we take up this role it would be difficult to prevent such instances,” the bench said while hearing contempt proceedings against two lawyers for allegedly abusing and manhandling some people from the northeast, including a woman advocate.
“We can't just say police will do it. We all have to do our little bit. It all adds up. We want Delhi to be the safest city,” the bench said and invited suggestions from the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) and other district bar associations to prevent such incidents in future.
It said the suggestions should be “simple, rustic and public-oriented” and also asked the bar associations to include the methods for implementing their recommendations.
The court listed the contempt case as well as the suo motu proceedings it initiated into the death of a 19-year-old northeast-origin student, Nido Tania, on March 18 and directed all parties to give their respective suggestions to make the city more safer for people from that region and women in general.
The contempt proceedings were initiated by the High Court on a letter sent by an Additional District and Sessions Judge of Tis Hazari court who had referred to an order of the metropolitan magistrate (MM) in whose courtroom the incident of assault on female northeast lawyer had occurred on May 23, last year.
Apart from that, the victims of the assault had also moved a plea for contempt proceedings against the two lawyers, Azad Chandra Prakash Gautam and Varun Jain.
The incident took place last May when the victims had gone to Tis Hazari court to record the statement of a northastern girl in a molestation case and were allegedly abused and assaulted by some lawyers inside the courtroom of a magistrate.
The girl, who was allegedly molested on the night of May 22, 2014, outside Vishwavidyalaya Metro station by an advocate, was accompanied by her friends and a woman lawyer.
The lawyers, who had gathered inside the courtroom in support of their accused colleague, allegedly hurled abuses against the victim and her supporters and assaulted some of them, including the woman advocate.
Thereafter, the victims had moved a contempt plea in the High Court against the two lawyers.
Earlier, Delhi Police had told the court that there was sufficient evidence against the two alleged contemnor lawyers.
The lawyers have been booked under IPC for offences, including rioting, crime committed by a member of unlawful assembly, voluntarily causing hurt, wrongfully restraining a person, assaulting a woman and criminal intimidation, the police had said.
