NEW DELHI: Two more advocates, who led the group of lawyers that clashed with each other two days ago at the Tis Hazari Court, were arrested by the Delhi Police, a senior official said on Friday. According to the official, the arrested lawyers were identified as Manish Sharma and Lalit Sharma. Manish Sharma is the vice president of the Delhi Bar Association and Lalit Sharma, the brother of the association’s secretary Atul Sharma.
Earlier, the police had arrested three other lawyers — Advocate Aman Singh, Sachin Sangwan and Ravi Gupta — in connection with the incident. While sending Manish Sharma and Lalit Sharma to police custody, Metropolitan Magistrate Chatinder Singh directed the officials to ensure that the accused are not subjected to torture and they are allowed to have prescribed medicines.
The brawl between the lawyers and the subsequent opening of fire on Wednesday has raised serious concerns regarding the safety at courts and also the maintenance of law and order in the national capital. The Bar Council of Delhi, taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, had already suspended the licence of Manish Sharma and Lalit Sharma with immediate effect.
The Bar Council had asked Manish Sharma to submit his written explanation in the matter and appear before it on July 7, “failing which, ex-parte action shall be initiated as deemed appropriate in accordance with the law”. Bar Council of Delhi chairman KK Manan stated that a fact-finding committee has been constituted to enquire into the incident.
“The committee shall also enquire as to how many outsiders were brought, and by whom, and were involved in the incident,” a notice read. It was alleged that an official of the Delhi Bar Association opened fire at the supporters of another member of the association. A video of the incident on social media showed a person firing in the air.
Bar Council acts tough on accused lawyers