Rajahmundry: Given the increasing number of attacks on the fraternity, to the extent that some are even being implicated in false cases by the police, advocates are demanding a ‘Advocates Protection Act’ similar on the lines of ‘Judicial Officers Protection Act’ to ensure their safety.
Advocates say that as it’s their primary responsibility to protect the rights of citizens and help them get justice by fighting for their rights in the courts of law. While doing so, if they antagonise the interests of a section of people, they are targeted by such sections who even engage goondas.
Advocates allege that as they try to protect the interests of persons accused by the police in various cases in courts, some cops develop grudges against them and eagerly wait for an opportunity to implicate them in false cases to trouble them.
The advocates further allege that at times, a section of the police, at the behest of local politicians, causes more trouble by implicating them in false cases and arresting them. The cited the recent cases where advocates including B.V. Ramani from Vijayawada, P. Ramachandra Raju from Kakinada, Meka Eeswaraiah from Jangareddygudem and others were assaulted and even threatened with murder.
A young advocate Kalyan from Rajahmundry was even abducted and killed and his body thrown in the forests of Rampachodavaram a few years ago because he was helping his female client to get divorce from her husband. The advocates allege that the police did not act promptly initially and when there was a lot of public outcry on the issue, they started inquiry and nabbed the culprits.
In the case of Meka Eeswaraiah too, the police reportedly roughed him up and took him to the police station and made him to stay there for several hours as he was representing the encroachers of a two acres land belonging to the Endowments department in the court and getting stay order to avoid eviction.
The police, alleging that Eeswaraiah was provoking the encroachers to resort to self-immolation as a deterrent to avoid their eviction, bundled him into a police jeep and shifted him to a police station. He was also reportedly one of the stakeholders in the encroached lands. Local advocates even abstained from the court duty one day in Jangareddygudem in protest against the police high-handedness on their colleague.
AP Bar Council Adhoc Committee member Muppala Subba Rao said, “It’s time both the Centre and state government should come up with ‘Advocates Protection Act’ to provide protection to us while discharging our duty of practicing the law. Judiciary comprises judges and advocates also and it is the responsibility of the government to protect the interests of us similar on the lines of judges.”
