J&K sex racket: Bar association on strike

The Jammu Bar Association on Wednesday went on strike to condemn a threat issued to senior lawyer Sunil Sethi in Srinagar.

The Jammu Bar Association on Wednesday went on strike to condemn a threat issued to senior lawyer Sunil Sethi in Srinagar while representing his brother Anil, who has been arrested in connection with the sex racket in the state.

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"The entire bar association today went on strike to protest the threat by some unidentified terrorists to kill our former president Sunil Sethi while he was pleading the case of his brother Anil on June 26," said Abhinav Sharma, the secretary of the body.

Former additional advocate general Anil Sethi is one of the twelve people arrested by the state police and CBI in connection with the sex racket that has rocked the state. Anil was recently charge sheeted by the CBI.

The bar association in Srinagar has announced that no lawyer will be allowed to represent those arrested or charged in connection with the scandal.

"We are not with the Kashmir bar, which has issued a blanket ban on its lawyers fighting the cases of the sex scam accused," Sharma said adding this is a "sensitive issue".

He ruled out supporting the bar association in Srinagar in its ban as this would "create anarchy, which we do not believe in".

The future course of action of the Jammu Bar Association will be decided at a meeting on Thursday, Sharma said.

Sunil Sethi has also sought security from Chief Justice BA Khan while pleading the case of his brother in Srinagar.