17 Odisha lawyers held for vandalising court

Sambalpur superintendent of police B Gangadhar said the lawyers were arrested in connection with the vandalism incident in the chamber of district judge Manas Barik during a protest demanding the establishment of a separate bench of the Orissa High Court in Sambalpur.

Published on: Dec 14, 2022, 24:09:48 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty, Bhubaneswar

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The Odisha police has arrested 17 lawyers in Sambalpur district for allegedly vandalising a district judge’s chambers on Monday, a senior police officer said on Tuesday.

Sambalpur superintendent of police B Gangadhar said the lawyers were arrested in connection with the vandalism incident in the chamber of district judge Manas Barik during a protest demanding the establishment of a separate bench of the Orissa High Court in Sambalpur.

After videos of the incident surfaced on social media, the Supreme Court on Monday took a strong stand against the lawyers and had asked the state government to inform it of steps taken against them.

“Three cases were filed at Town Police station in connection with yesterday’s incident and 17 lawyers were arrested after examining footage from the CCTV cameras. More CCTV and video footage is being analysed for further arrests,” SP Gangadhar said on Tuesday. He added that section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) has been implemented in the vicinity of the court.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the chairman of the Action Committee of Sambalpur District Bar Association, Pradeep Bohidar, said their protest would continue.

“The Odisha Bar Council has issued our licences, not the Bar Council of India. Yesterday, satyagrah was going on peacefully. The vandalism was the outcome of police excesses. Police was taking the district judge and other judges to court premises secretly,” said Bohidar.

On Monday, a Supreme Court bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S Oka had warned of ordering the deployment of central forces if state police were unable to control the situation.

“Lawyers have lost their privilege. Police are expected to take action. Why are the police making polite conversations with them? Why should they not be taken into custody? If the police are not able to control it, we will send the paramilitary. Please tell us whether you are able to handle it or not. Tell us. We want action by the day after tomorrow,” the bench had said and summoned the state’s director general of police via videoconferencing on Wednesday.

Following the SC’s observations, the Bar Council of India had suspended the licences of 29 agitating lawyers including Sureswar Mishra, the president of the district’s Bar Association taking into account the “act of vandalism and unrest”.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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