Delhi HC Agrees To Form A Committee To Look Into The Incident Of Shouting In Court After Order In Jamia Violence Case

The Delhi High Court on Friday agreed to form a committee to look into the incident of shouting in Court yesterday.

This was after certain lawyers mentioned the matter before the bench headed by Chief Justice on Friday morning seeking suo moto action.

On Thursday, after the Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Hari Shankar had denied interim protection to Jamia students from coercive action from police for alleged violence during anti-CAA protests, certain persons raised the slogan of 'Shame! Shame!' while the judges were moving towards their chambers. 

Today, members of different bar associations moved the same Bench, seeking action under the Contempt of Court Act against those who had shouted. These pleas, also asked the court to take the suo motu cognisance of the matter, or refer the matter to a committee to undertake an inquiry. 

One of the lawyers began by saying that as the Court was the 'temple of justice', such acts of sacrilege were completely unbecoming of the profession. 

Further, contempt action should be taken as a message has to go out that such incidents will not be tolerated. He said: 

'We have our convictions, but this is not the way it should be done. If this is what we're coming to, there would be no difference between this establishment and the streets'. 

A member of the Bar Council of Delhi also informed the court that the Council condemns the incident. He said that the lawyers who appeared yesterday and their clients are doing vandalism outside the court, which are being shown everyday on TV. 

He further said that people who create ruckus outside, should not be allowed to do the same inside the court and intimidate the judiciary. 

One of the lawyers also went on to say that he's really concerned about the wide reporting of the incident by the media. He said, 'In this digital age, this can have international outreach'. 

After this, a representative of the Supreme Court said that it was not just an attack on the judiciary, but on the entire fraternity. He also said that notices should be issued to all Bar Associations to frame policy to deal with such incidents. 

Another advocate, RP Luthra, informed the court that he's getting victimized for raising objections against the shouting that had happened yesterday. He said, that it is only due to police intervention, that he got rescued. 

After hearing all the lawyers, the Chief Justice said that a committee will be formed and asked to look into the matter. However, no order regarding the same has been passed as of this minute. The same is still awaited.

(Story to be updated after receiving order)