New Delhi:
Press Council of India Chairman Justice Markandey Katju has criticised the drama outside the Delhi court where the six men, accused of brutally gang-raping and assaulting 23-year-old medical student, are being tried.
Calling the rucks disgraceful, Justice Katju said in a note today, "If these reports are correct it is disgraceful. Every person accused of a crime, however heinous and despicable it is alleged to be, has the right to be defended, as Article 22 of our Constitution states." (Read full note)
There was drama in Delhi's Saket court on Monday after the men were brought to the court complex in a large police van. The lawyers sporadically shouted against an advocate who has volunteered to defend the accused, describing him as a publicity seeker. The Saket Bar Association had said none of its members would defend the man accused of the crime that united India in anger and grief, corroborated by large protests in cities like Delhi.
The former Supreme Court judge these members of the Bar Council should be punished. "Those lawyers who behaved like this and created a turmoil in Court, as reported, so much so that the Judge had to rise and go to her chamber, not only deserve to be punished for Contempt of Court, they should also be proceeded against by the Bar Council for breach of professional ethics," Justice Katju said in the note.
The lawyer, ML Sharma, who volunteered to represent the accused said he did so after their families approached him. Mr Sharma also alleged that he was beaten by the protesting lawyers.
Police have pledged 'maximum security' during the hearing at the court amid fears for the defendants' safety.
On December 16, the student and her boyfriend watched a movie at a South Delhi mall. They then boarded a school bus that was running illegally at night. The driver, according to the police, had decided to go for "a joyride" with his friends. The couple were led to believe the school bus was a private or chartered bus, hundreds of which operate in Delhi to compensate for thin public transport.
Once they boarded the bus, the six men allegedly hit them with an iron rod before taking turns to rape the young woman. The pair were then thrown out of the moving vehicle.
Calling the rucks disgraceful, Justice Katju said in a note today, "If these reports are correct it is disgraceful. Every person accused of a crime, however heinous and despicable it is alleged to be, has the right to be defended, as Article 22 of our Constitution states." (Read full note)
There was drama in Delhi's Saket court on Monday after the men were brought to the court complex in a large police van. The lawyers sporadically shouted against an advocate who has volunteered to defend the accused, describing him as a publicity seeker. The Saket Bar Association had said none of its members would defend the man accused of the crime that united India in anger and grief, corroborated by large protests in cities like Delhi.
The former Supreme Court judge these members of the Bar Council should be punished. "Those lawyers who behaved like this and created a turmoil in Court, as reported, so much so that the Judge had to rise and go to her chamber, not only deserve to be punished for Contempt of Court, they should also be proceeded against by the Bar Council for breach of professional ethics," Justice Katju said in the note.
The lawyer, ML Sharma, who volunteered to represent the accused said he did so after their families approached him. Mr Sharma also alleged that he was beaten by the protesting lawyers.
Police have pledged 'maximum security' during the hearing at the court amid fears for the defendants' safety.
On December 16, the student and her boyfriend watched a movie at a South Delhi mall. They then boarded a school bus that was running illegally at night. The driver, according to the police, had decided to go for "a joyride" with his friends. The couple were led to believe the school bus was a private or chartered bus, hundreds of which operate in Delhi to compensate for thin public transport.
Once they boarded the bus, the six men allegedly hit them with an iron rod before taking turns to rape the young woman. The pair were then thrown out of the moving vehicle.
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