Delhi High Court Women Lawyers Forum Writes To HCBA Against Strike Call By Bar Associations Over Judgment Convicting Rajiv Khosla

The Delhi High Court Women Lawyers Forum has written a protest letter to the President of the High Court Bar Association condemning the action of Co-ordination Committee of the Distirct Court Bar Associations calling for a strike to oppose the recent judgment convicting former Delhi High Court Bar Association President Rajiv Khosla for assaulting a woman lawyer Sujata Kohli in the year 1994.

"At the outset we applaud the courage of Sujata Kohli to have faith in the rule of law and to take recourse to law against violence at the workplace. We also applaud the trial court for its courage to give an independent decision without being intimidated by the might and power of the accused person," the letter reads.

The Forum has also condemned the action of the coordination committee by which a committee has been set up to scrutinize the said judgment followed by submission of a report.

"This is nothing but an act of intimidation/contempt against the trial court," the letter further states.

The letter also highlights "the misogyny of the bar" and states that many women lawyers have suffered the oppressive, patriarchy and sexual harassment within the legal profession over the years.

"Sujata Kohli had the courage to initiate legal process and fight her cause over 27 years. We applaud her," the Forum has written in the letter.

"The silence of other Bar Associations is significant and leads to the irresistible and sad conclusion that the bar does not treat gender issues, hooliganism, intimidation and contempt of courts as worthy principles to stand up for and call out, unless it is to suppress the voices of marginalized lawyers. It also indicates their approval and support for bullying of women lawyers and attempts to overreach the rule of law and independence of the Judiciary," it adds.

The conduct of the Bar Associations have highlighted the appalling conditions in which woman lawyers work in courts, the letter further states.

The letter thus ends on the note that the Forum expects the Bar to condemn the said actions of the co-ordination committee.

This comes after Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gajender Singh Nagar of the Tis Hazari Court recently convicted Khosla in the matter.

The Court was of the opinion that the testimony of the Kohli qua her allegation of being pulled by hair and arm by Khosla and the threat that she will not be allowed to practice from Tis Hazari Court was "absolutely truthful and creditworthy."

Complainant Sujata Kohli, who was a practicing lawyer earlier, became a judge in the Delhi judiciary and retired as District and Sessions Judge last year.

The allegations against Khosla were that in July 1994, when he was the Secretary of Delhi Bar Association, he had asked Kohli to join a seminar and on her refusal, threatened her that all facilities from the Bar Association would be withdrawn and she would be dispossessed of her seat as well.

A civil suit was filed by her seeking appropriate injunction however, her table and chair were removed from its spot. It was thereafter alleged by her in the complaint that when she was sitting on a bench placed nearby her seat while waiting for visit of the Civil judge, Rajiv Khosla alongwith co-accused had came with a mob of 40-50 lawyers.

According to the complainant, they all surrounded her, and Khosla stepped forward and pulled her from her hair, twisted her arms, dragged her by hair, uttered filthy abuses and threatened her.

While the FIR was lodged by police in August 1994, the complainant had filed a complaint case on being utterly dissatisfied with the investigation in March 1995.

"Delhi Bar Association is undisputedly a very strong and formidable body of lawyers and more often, police is very slow in taking any action when it comes to lawyers. In the case in hand the accused was a prominent leader of Bar, at the relevant time he was Honorary Secretary of the DBA," the Court had said on the aspect of Police witnesses not supporting the case of the complainant.

The Court was of the view that the act of pulling someone from hair and arm would result in bodily pain and thus offence under Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) IPC was made out as bodily pain was inflicted on the complainant.

The Court had observed thus:

"It is common knowledge that now a days people are becoming self-centered and they find it safe to keep mum even if they see an injustice being done to any person. This is becoming harsh reality these days. These days nobody comes forward to save some one or to stood witness for someone unless and until one has personal interest in the matter."

"The complainant was an advocate, she was aware about all the legal provisions, if she had to cook up a story she could have easily made up a story that in the late hours after dark she was attacked or molested by the accused which is not the case here. In the present case complainant has alleged the attacked in the broadly day light in presence of a number of lawyers, soon before the visiting of Ld Civil Judge. It is impossible for a person to so minutely cook up a story as allegedly done by the complainant."

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