Lawyers attack media in Kerala High Court

KOCHI: A section of lawyers on Wednesday stopped legal correspondents from entering the Kerala High Court in response to media reports of a sex-abuse case against a Government Pleader. The group attacked mediapersons holding a sit-in protest near the High Court.

They also vandalised the media room in the court and abused women reporters who regularly cover news from the High Court.In the attack against mediapersons for the second day in succession, two cameramen and a senior reporter and several others were injured. A few autorikcshaw drivers were also manhandled by the advocates.

On Wednesday when media persons, including women reporters, regularly covering HC reached the court premises a section of the advocates involved in the fracas on Tuesday tried to prevent them entering the media room and showered them with abuses. They also locked the media room and the journalists were rescued from physical violence by the police personnel on duty in the court premises. The women journalists then retreated to the safety of the office of the HC registrar and they came out from the court premises after the intervention of the acting Chief Justice under police protection.  

On hearing the news about reporters covering the HC trapped in court premises other media persons reached near the HC and held a protest sit-in. A section of the advocates then assembled in the gate of the HC and started throwing stones and coins at the protesting media persons.