Delhi HC asks AAP govt for update on advocates protection bill

The high court was hearing a plea by advocates Deepa Joseph and Alpha Phiris Dayal seeking the enactment of a law for the protection of advocates in the wake of the alleged murder of a lawyer in April.

Delhi government standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi submitted he would be filing the latest status report with the developments in the bill so far.

The court set an earlier date of hearing on a plea filed by the petitioners, represented by advocate Robin Raju in connection with an attack on a group of lawyers on October 21 wherein an FIR was registered at the Mehrauli Police Station.

"The recent acts of violence against lawyers show the dire need for enactment of the Advocates Protection Act in Delhi," the plea said.

It called for an immediate interference of the court in the matter as the final draft bill of the Advocates Protection Act prepared by the Law Department of Delhi government had been pending consideration and approval of the Delhi Law Minister since September 13.

On April 12, the high court had asked the Central and Delhi governments to respond to the petition and also sought a status report from the Bar Council of Delhi and the coordination committee of all district bar associations, which had submitted it was already in the process of drafting the Advocates Protection Bill and holding consultations with public officials.

Advocate Virender Kumar Narwal, 53, was gunned down by two motorcycle-borne assailants in southwest Delhi's Dwarka area on April 1.

In their plea, the petitioners said there had been an "alarming rise" in incidents of violence inside the court premises in the city and it was "high time" for a decision for enacting a law to guarantee protection to the legal fraternity and dispel fear.

The petitioners said their safety concerns got "aggravated by seeing the visuals and video of the cold-blooded murder of an influential and senior member of the Bar", and if such a bill was not passed in Delhi, the audacity of criminals to commit crimes against lawyers would only increase.

Referring to Narwal's case, the plea said there was fear among the lawyers and it impinged upon the right to practice any profession under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India besides violating Article 21 of the Constitution guaranteeing protection of life and personal liberty.

The plea illustrated that a law in Rajasthan provided for the police protection to any lawyer under attack or being subjected to criminal force or intimidation while prescribing a punishment for the offender.

"Only an Act that guarantees protection to the fraternity of lawyers practising in Delhi will help remove the sense of fear embedded in the minds, particularly among young first-generation lawyers like the petitioners herein due to the repeated acts of firing inside court premises and altercations to state the least," the plea said.