NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday took cognisance of alleged manhandling of senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia and another woman advocate in the Gautam Budh Nagar district court on March 20.
A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued notice to the president and secretary of the Janpad Diwani Evam Faujdari Bar association and sought their personal appearance on April 1.
Senior advocates Vikas Singh and Jayant Bhushan mentioned the matter and submitted before the bench that lawyers allegedly misbehaved and snatched the collar band of Bhatia and misbehaved with him and another lawyer.
The woman lawyer, Muskan Gupta who appeared before the apex court, said that she was also manhandled in a different court while appearing in a matter.
The apex court was informed that lawyers were on strike in the Gautam Budh Nagar district court.
The bench directed the district judge, Gautam Budh Nagar to ensure that the CCTV footage of the incident is in safe custody pending further orders. The bench also sought a report from the district judge to be submitted on the incident.
The court said a strike by lawyers affects the litigants who are vital stakeholders in the justice system.
Senior advocates K K Venugopal and Vijay Hansaria supported the submission by Singh.
After hearing submissions, the bench directed registration of a suo motu petition over the incident which occurred on Wednesday on the premises of the district court.
There is no reason why this court should not accept what is placed on the record. Ordinarily, we would have insisted on a petition. But the attack on two members of the SCBA (Supreme Court Bar Association) is serious. We accordingly direct the registrar to register a suo motu writ petition, said the bench.
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has also condemned the incident in connection with Bhatia.
The Supreme Court Bar Association takes cognizance of this grievous misconduct by a lawyer present inside the courtroom and strongly condemns such unprofessional and illegal act undertaken by the concerned advocate as it brings disrepute to the entire legal fraternity, a statement said.
The SCBA asked the executive committee of Janpad Dewani and Faujdari Bar Association Gautam Budh Nagar to identify the said lawyer, put him to notice and take strict action against the concerned lawyer. The Bar Council of India also said it also decided to seek action in the matter.
