A scuffle broke out between the Delhi Police and the lawyers in Tis Hazari Court on Saturday, November 2. There was arson, blaze and even bullets were fired when lawyers clashed with police, which left one advocate injured with a bullet injury to his chest.
The injured was rushed to St. Stephen's hospital. The scuffle broke out over a parking issue and resulted in arson, during which nine police vehicles were vandalised. Lawyers alleged that two of their colleagues were injured, including one in police firing, but the police denied that it had opened fire.
Bar Associations condemned the incident and called a one-day strike across all district courts in the national capital on November 4. Secretary of Tis Hazari Bar Association Jaiveer Singh Chauhan told news agency PTI that a lawyer's car allegedly hit a police jail van following which an argument broke out between him and the police.
"He was then taken inside a lockup and beaten up badly. The SHO came but was not allowed inside. The district judges of the central and west district, along with six other judges went there but were unable to let the lawyer out," Chauhan alleged. He further claimed that after about 20 minutes, the police fired four rounds of bullets while the judges were leaving the spot. He claimed that one of the lawyers, Ranjeet Singh Malik, who was protesting outside along with others, suffered a bullet injury.
'Delhi Police manhandles lawyers'
"The police manhandled the lawyers. This was an incident of complete negligence by the police," Chauhan alleged. The lawyer was released from the lockup after about half an hour, he claimed.
A police vehicle was set on fire and eight others were vandalised during the fracas, the officials said, adding that the Fire Department dispatched ten fire tenders to the spot. A huge posse of police and anti-riot vehicles were deployed at the site after the violence.
Meanwhile, lawyers sat on a protest at the gate of the court premises, demanding action against those responsible.
K C Mittal, Chairman of Bar Council of Delhi, said, "We strongly condemn the brutal and unprovoked attack on lawyers by police at Tis Hazari Court. One lawyer is critical. A young lawyer was beaten in lockup, a high-handedness of the police. They should be dismissed and prosecuted. We stand with Delhi lawyers."
Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra visited the court complex along with party members and called for action against the personnel involved in the clash.
