CHENNAI: Ten years after the infamous clash between police and advocates at the Madras High Court premises, the Egmore Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Monday issued summons to 31 advocates to appear before it on February 28.
The High Court recently issued orders to reopen the February 19, 2009 case, which has been pending with the Court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate without any progress. The case pertains to clashes that erupted between police and lawyers after a group of advocates allegedly attacked BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.
On February 19, 2009, clashes erupted between a section of lawyers and police when the latter tried to arrest a group of lawyers who attacked Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy with eggs while he was arguing a case inside the court hall of Madras High court on February 17, 2009. The police action led to a clash and a lathi charge was carried out inside the court campus. The lawyers set fire to vehicles inside the campus and stone pelting was reported, resulting in several of them getting injured, including judges.
Thereafter, the High Court ordered a CBI probe based on which charge sheets were filed against 31 advocates including the current president of the Madras High Court Advocates Association G Mohanakrishnan and 10 police personnel under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Tamil Nadu Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, 1992. Departmental action was recommended against 22 police personnel.
Then police commissioner K Radhakrishnan, then ACP (Law and Order) AK Viswanathan, then JCP (North) M Ramasubramaniam and former DCP (Flower Bazaar) Prem Anand Sinha also came under fire. The HC granted a stay in the case in a plea filed by advocates in 2010.