Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Around 50-60 advocates, including senior lawyers and women advocates, were detained by police while protesting near the Supreme Court premises in Delhi on Saturday, amid heightened security ahead of protests called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar.
The detentions prompted the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to seek the Chief Justice of India’s (CJI) intervention, following which the CJI asked the authorities to release the detained lawyers, according to a Live Law report.
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Advocate Devvrat, President of the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association, also confirmed that the CJI had directed authorities to release the lawyers.
SCBA president Pradeep Rai raised the issue in a post on X around 11.30 am, describing the reported detention of Supreme Court advocates from their chambers as “deeply disturbing”.
Rai said the matter was being urgently brought to the attention of the CJI and demanded the immediate release of the lawyers.
“Arbitrary detention and intimidation of advocates will not be tolerated. I demand immediate release of the lawyers,” Rai said.
Around 10 minutes later, Rai posted an update saying he had also spoken to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), New Delhi, who had assured him that the detained lawyers would be released immediately.
“Just spoke to Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi. They are releasing the lawyers immediately,” Rai wrote in a follow up post.
Meanwhile, SCBA honorary secretary Pragya Baghel wrote to the CJI, seeking urgent intervention over the reported detention of advocates protesting peacefully outside the Supreme Court premises.
In her letter, Baghel said several senior advocates and other lawyers, including women advocates, had reportedly been detained using excessive police force. She added that the association had passed a resolution expressing “grave concern” and condemning the reported action.
The SCBA urged the CJI to intervene with the concerned authorities to establish the whereabouts and safety of the detained advocates, ensure their access to legal assistance and secure the release of those against whom there were no lawful grounds for detention.
“We also request that the reported use of force be examined and appropriate action taken in accordance with law,” Baghel wrote.
The detentions came amid heightened security ahead of the CJP’s planned October 10 protest at Jantar Mantar. Prohibitory orders are in force across New Delhi, with police using loudspeakers to warn people against violating restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
More than 300 CCTV cameras with audio-recording capabilities have also been installed at sensitive locations to monitor crowd mobilisation. Delhi Police denied permission for the protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged voter-list manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and changes to Form 6.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
